Something Special for My Birthday

Today is my birthday and I have done something special. Before I tell you what I need to tell you about my friends CaptainTom3 and MrsTom3. They are a married couple that I follow on twitter.
A few months ago I discovered I had a new follower on twitter. She had only sent 1 tweet and only followed one other person, her husband. Intrigued as to why she had started following me I struck up conversations with @mrstom3 and @captaintom3. It turned out that their son was suffering renal failure and needed a kidney transplant. It was @mrstom3 who was going to give her kidney to her son. She had joined twitter for something to do whilst sat at hospital with her son and for when she had the operation herself for some light relief. My son had been ill in the past and in hospital so I knew how boring it could be just sitting around so I was only too happy to drum up some more twitter followers and get a special support group going.
I'm not sure they knew that twitter could offer a great support service but I think they have found that it does. Even Duncan Bannatyne has taken the trouble to tweet and show an interest in @mrstom3 and the roller coaster ride she is on.
The transplant took place on 9th March and we have all followed the progress being made. It truly is a roller coaster with good news followed by bad news followed by good news followed by bad. This week it was discovered that the glandular fever virus had been in the donated kidney and so more worry for the family.
Before meeting the Toms online I hadn't really given much thought to transplants. My family are healthy and so it never crossed my mind. I know that if any of my family were taken ill in this way and I could help by being a living donor I would. I know if they were really ill and needed an organ that I couldn't donate I would be frantic with worry and wish for an organ to become available.
That set me thinking and so today, as a birthday present, I did something I should have done a long time ago. I registered as an organ donor. I hope that I die peacefully in my sleep of old age but if something dreadful should happen to me then I hope that something good can come of it. I hope that a frantic family can be helped. I've put it off for years because I've never been pushed into thinking about it. Captaintom3 wrote a blog about it which put it back in my mind.

If you'd like to give me a present for my birthday then register as an organ donor here .If you are all ready on the list then why not make a donation to kidney research via @mrstom3 at her just giving site