Donations of blood, organs save life of woman, 21

Grand Falls-windsor woman grateful for organ, blood donors

Editor’s note:

The 11th annual Telegram Saves Lives campaign runs this year until Oct. 22. As part of our efforts to encourage people to give blood, we’re running a series of letters from people whose lives were changed by blood donation. This one is from Amanda Saunders, a heart transplant recipient and cancer survivor.

I never thought in my early 20s that I would have survived two life-threatening illnesses.

In April 2018, when I was 21 years old, I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy — an enlarged heart.

It didn’t take long for it to spin out of control. I was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure in a matter of months. I could not eat or drink without getting violently ill, I could not walk more than five feet without gasping for air, I slept for 14-17 hours a day, and I began to retain fluid in my stomach and legs.

In November of that year, I was admitted to a hospital five hours away from my hometown. Three days into that stay, I was told that I had to go to Ottawa for a heart transplant assessment and then, hopefully, a transplant. That would be the only way for me to survive.

A heart transplant?

Are they sure?

I was also in university at the time, and I withdrew from school in my hospital bed. Every last bit of normalcy I had was gone.

A few weeks later, I ended up on the transplant list. I was a 3.5 out of 4, which meant I needed a transplant as soon as possible.

After a seven-week wait,

I got the call for my heart in January 2019.

The surgery was a huge success, but it wasn’t without a few complications. I was kept in a coma for a few days and my kidneys shut down. I also lost a lot of blood and my blood counts dropped dangerously low.

After some sleep, dialysis and multiple blood and blood-product transfusions, I was ready to live life with my brand new heart and never look back.

Unfortunately, this did not last.

Fourteen months after my transplant, I was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD).

PTLD is a rare type of blood cancer that originated from my transplant. This happens in one to two per cent of transplant patients.

I was lost, angry and hurt by this diagnosis. But just like with heart failure, I thought to myself, let’s kick cancer’s butt!

Once I started treatment, the need for blood came right along with it, as my blood counts took another massive hit. I cannot even begin to tell you how many transfusions I had during treatment. It was way too many to count.

Due to the selfless nature of both my organ donor and my blood donors, I am alive.

They have saved my life, and for that, I am immensely grateful. Since my transplant and my battle with cancer, I have been able to accomplish so much that I would not have otherwise been able to do.

I have hit remission, and I have been able to return to school and graduate from university. I am now starting my second degree in social work this fall.

I have also been able to spend more time with my loved ones, celebrate holidays, get a new puppy and meet other transplant warriors, and — the most near and dear to my new heart — I get to spread the word about the importance of organ/tissue and blood donation.

The gift of life is truly precious, and something I will be forever impacted by.

For more information on The Telegram Saves Lives campaign, see page C5 of today's edition or visit saltwire. com. To register to give blood, visit blood.ca.