A new book by Diana Sanders
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Am I ready to face death?
Four years ago, Diana Sanders couldn’t walk to the end of her short garden. She faced a choice: die young or go through life-threatening surgery followed by an uncertain recovery and a future full of medication. Born with a condition which meant her heart never pumped enough oxygen around her body, Diana chose to take the risk.
This book traces the process of a heart-lung transplant with humour and honesty – the agonising wait for a suitable donor, the midnight rush to Papworth Hospital, surviving the nine hour operation and the intricate route to recovery. It is the first to pull together the facts about transplantation with a human story about living with a heart condition and the huge changes wrought after a transplant.
“Diana Sanders has given us one of the very few accounts of major surgery written from the patient’s point of view…. a human-interest story of great poignancy. Excellent.”
Brian Thompson
Author: Keeping Mum
Am I ready for a transplant?
“One thing I really wanted, when faced with a transplant, was an account of what it is like to go there,” says Diana. “What I hope I’ve done is to provide a companion for people going through this process, which will also help carers and the medical profession to understand what it is like.”
And will I still be me if I have someone else’s organs inside me?
Will I Still Be Me? Is aimed at all those people who are interested and curious, and for anyone affected by the huge process of adaptation required when facing major surgery. The book, told from a patient’s perspective, is also aimed at health professionals working in the area, so they can understand more deeply what their patients are going through in the journey through a transplant.
“...
a gripping, lucid account of a roller-coaster of events and emotions…
This book should be an essential read for all...”
Professor John Wallwork
Director of Transplant Services
Papworth Hospital
The book makes an eloquent case for the benefits of organ donation. Like Diana, many lives are saved, or vastly improved, by transplants. These are the lucky few. Each year, more than 7,000 people wait for a transplant, of whom only about 2,500 are successful. The book looks at organ donation, aiming to dispel the myths and encourage more people to register as donors.