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Emily is a bubbly, smiley 27 year old who lives in Surrey. Born with the disease Cystic Fibrosis, Emily has grown up accustomed to the daily regime of inhalers, antibiotics, nebulisers and physiotherapy. In spite of vast amounts of treatment, she is adamant she had a “normal upbringing” and was able to do everything any other child would do. Emily’s lungs deteriorated as she grew older and by the age of 19 her lungs were severely damaged. In March 2005 Emily was listed for a double lung transplant and informed that without one she probably only had a year left to live.
Despite her turbulent health, she decided to stay on at university and graduated Bristol with a 2.1. After nearly two years and several dramatic lung collapses which left Emily fighting for her life, she got her desperately needed transplant in January 2007.
Emily first caught the fundraising bug when aged 11 she and her friends held a garden fete and raised £120. Emily has not looked back and continues to raise both funds and awareness by any means, from public speaking, to village fetes, from staged events to lobbying politicians. Through events she has organised and helped organise, she has raised over £60 000 for various charities, predominantly the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and was awarded the Nicky West Tribute award for outstanding contribution in 2005.
Emily is an ambassador for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Her most memorable two duties are speaking at no. 11 Downing St in front of Gordon Brown in 2004, and at the House of Lords in 2006 to mark the launch of National Transplant Week. She also works in an advisory capacity for fellow people with Cystic Fibrosis and runs www.pwcf.net, which she set up with Gary Torrance who sadly died when a transplant did not come through in time. Emily is frequently on GMTV and Richard and Judy, both of which have been highly supportive of Emily’s battle and her fight for her cause.
Before her transplant, Emily was driven by her desire to live, her enjoyment and passion for life helping her surpass the toughest of obstacles. Now she is driven by that urge to help others experience this amazing new lease of life which a transplant can bring, and wants to fight to try and turn around the current trend of increasing numbers of people dying on the waiting list each year.
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