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Sunday 1 April 2018

Once Upon a Time in the Land of Fate


Let me take you back to a not-so-sunny day in September, 2015.

A young girl in her early 20s was sitting on her sofa next to her friend discussing a potential university ski trip.

"You should come!! It would be so much fun", exclaimed the friend.

After a few moments of deliberation, the young girl said "f**k it, I'll come". And with that the deposit was paid and she started to plan her trip with her university friends.

They were due to go on 22nd January, 2016, for a week to "de-stress" after all of their exams were finished for that semester.

Her first step was to contact the dialysis travel company, one that she trusted and had used many times before. The lady she dealt with said that the trip would not be a problem and that everything would be sorted out as soon as possible.

The young girl was so excited to finally go on a university ski trip, something she had wanted to do for years. She had heard about all the brilliant shenanigans that went on, including the (naked, drunken) midnight skiing. And even though she would never partake in such a frivolous activity... she was just thrilled to going.

A month went by and she hadn't heard anything from the dialysis travel coordinators which was not like them. She phoned them again and on answering they assured her that everything was getting sorted and she had nothing to worry about.

The young girl carried on as normal with her life and university studies, as well as attending dialysis six days a week. After another two months had gone by with no information given, the hospital started asking for more travel details and when they needed to have the blood tests completed by. The payment deadline was coming up too so she phoned the coordinators again.

She was informed that the lady who was dealing with her request had recently had a knee operation and had not been into work, nor would be returning for another month. Feeling disappointed, the young girl asked if anything could still be done and if, in fact, anything at all over the last three months had actually been done.

Sadly, it had not but the dialysis travel coordinators said that they would try over the next few days to help. This was so unlike them. They had been fantastic over the last three years.

Feeling a little disheartened, the young girl phoned the ski travel operator and informed them of the situation. With the final payment due in two days they said that they could push back the payment deadline to give her time.

Discouraged by all of this, she decided to phone her Mum who always had the perfect advice for everything.

"You know, Katie, I have a funny feeling something is meant to happen while you are away. It's like someone doesn't want you to go. Maybe just leave this trip and you'll get again."

With that advice taken on board, the young girl decided to cancel the tip and, to be honest, she was ever so slightly relieved. The travel operator even gave her the deposit back which was very generous.

Six weeks passed without much thought about the trip. With exams over, the young girl just did what all students to best - sleep!

One morning, at 40 strokes past 2, the young girl received a phone call. Rummaging around her bedside table for her phone, she answered: "hello?"

"Hello Kate, this is the transplant coordinator from Edinburgh here. You can probably guess why I'm calling?"

"No."

"Well, we have found a match for you. Would you like to get some things together, pick up your notes from Aberdeen hospital and come down to Edinburgh as soon as you can...?"

And with that, she jumped out of bed and packed her bag. Looking in the mirror, she knew this was it. She'd had a call before that didn’t go ahead but this time, it was hers!

As she left, she turned round to lock the door knowing that this was meant to be. Life would never be the same again.

With one final pause, she looked up at her trusty cat sitting on the top step, looking at her as if to say "good luck. I'll be here for you when you get home!"

It was a Tuesday. Tuesday, 26th January, 2016.



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3 comments

  1. Amazing story! Wonderful writing! So good to hear your news.

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