How the Rolling Stones changed my life: amazing story of seven times transplant woman
Paint it Black ringtone was the signal for successful double lung operation that would transform Victoria Glenn’s life.
She weighed just six and a half stone and had to rely oxygen to breathe, but now 28-year-old Victoria Glenn is starting a new life thanks to a lung transplant.
A life-long battle with cystic fibrosis had left Victoria’s lungs functioning at only 20% capacity. She relied on artificial oxygen to breath and her weight had plummeted to just six and a half stone.
But it was the sound of the Rolling Stones song Paint it Black - the ringtone on her mobile phone - that would change her life on May 16 after seven previous false alarms.
Victoria told The Hour: “It was 7pm on a Saturday night when that ringtone that I had been hoping to hear started to play on my mobile phone. Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones was set only to ring when the transplant team were trying to get a hold of me. I was wearing my purple flowery dress and getting ready to go out with friends, but the transplant team thought they might have new lungs for me.”
The previous seven times she had been called she endured a blue light journey from Glasgow to Newcastle only to be told that the donor lungs were not a good match.
She said: “I didn’t want to get too excited about this because I had been through seven failed attempts. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital I was just listening to music and trying not to think about it too much.”
In cystic fibrosis sufferers, the glands which produce mucus, saliva and intestinal fluids don’t work properly, resulting in secretions which clog the organs. This makes it difficult to breathe and digest food. Victoria had reached the stage were a short walk left her breathless and tired.
Fortunately for Victoria, this time the lungs were a match and the operation was a resounding success.
In the six months before to her life-changing operation, her quality of life had decreased dramatically. She continues to take anti-rejection drugs and will be on medication for cystic fibrosis for the rest of her life.
But her boyfriend Greg said: “Every day is amazing now. I can’t explain the difference in her.”
In the days after the operation, Victoria, who lives in Glasgow, described getting depressed and hitting a barrier.
“You don’t feel instantly better because of the pain and the many drains and wires you are hooked up to. But ultimately, it’s worth it.”
She knows only the name of the woman whose lungs she inherited and will be eternally grateful to her family for allowing the donation.
She said: “The woman who gave me my lungs is my guardian angel sitting on my shoulder. I plan to write her family a thank you letter - but not yet. It been three months since my operation and there is so much I want to do so I actually have something to write about.”
Greg believes that “organ donation is the best gift you could ever give someone” and urges as many people as possible to sign up and carry a donor card.
Victoria is now taking evening classes in photography and fashion and is planning to do voluntary work so she can get a job in community arts. She has also has organised a charity ball on October 29 at Oran Mor in Glasgow to raise cash for organ donation charity, Live Life then Give Life.
USEFUL LINKS
- Call the organ donor line on 0845 6060 400
- Join the Live Life then Give Life campaign
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