Kirstie Tancock

Kirstie received a double lung transplant in July 2011. She was previously a LLTGL ambassador whilst she waited for her new lungs.

Kirstie was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a progressive lung disease. She had been in and out of hospital all her life with frequent chest infections but it was as she reached her late teens that she started to experience a rapid decline in lung function and mobility. Up until then, Kirstie had managed to complete school, study performing arts and arts management, qualify as a fitness pole dancing instructor and run a successful business.

In March of 2011 Kirstie attended Harefield hospital for transplant assessment. Her lung function at the time was just on the cusp of transplant criteria; thankfully the decision was made to put her on the active waiting list for new lungs.

Just six days later, back in Devon, Kirstie was back in the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital due to an alarming decline. She didn't leave the hospital for 4 weeks and on returning home, required carers to perform the simplest of tasks that she was to breathless to do now, such as run a bath, cook food and other general day to day things to get by.

In May Kirstie was struggling even more, and finding the four metres from her bed to the bathroom difficult. She was admitted back into Hospital to start using a non-invasive ventilator called a bi-pap over night and to give her exhausted lungs a rest when required. Kirstie’s CF consultant told her then that if she continued at this rate of decline, she had just six months to live. It turned out six months would be an optimistic prediction. Kirstie was devastated; she was getting married and was terrified it would not mark the start of their lives together, but instead be a goodbye.

Three days before Kirstie’s wedding she was rushed into resus, unable to breathe. She was stabilised but it was apparent that time was running out. Kirstie went from the High Dependency Unit to her wedding with her nurses, physio and doctor all ready to intervene if anything went wrong. Kirstie’s husband-to-be Stuart had a Do Not Resuscitate order in his pocket, knowing if Kirstie did not want to be put on a ventilator if she collapsed, as a transplant would then no longer be an option. Happily, Kirstie made it through the day with the support of her loved ones.

Two weeks after her wedding Kirstie was rushed back in and given a choice; to stay at Exeter and be made comfortable or to be airlifted to Harefield and receive invasive treatment to keep her alive for as long as possible. Kirstie was airlifted to Harefield and placed on a machine called ECMO which removes the blood from the body, extracts the carbon dioxide, oxygenates it, and pumps it back round, essentially doing the job of her heart and lungs. Kirstie spent a week and a half on ECMO until, when she was literally on death’s door, a donor was found.

Since her transplant, Kirstie has fought her way back to health. Her muscles had wasted as she had been so ill, but she’s now back teaching Fitness pole dancing, attending the gym six days a week and six fitness classes a week.

Kirstie has been a keen fundraiser since the age of 16 when she did a sky dive to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis and has run several events raising awareness and money for various charities including LLTGL. Kirstie has many different fundraising and awareness events planned for the future, including a 180 mile bike ride next year and a charity fundraiser ball.

During Kirstie’s wait for transplant, she raised awareness through all her local media, fronting the lifesavers campaign for her local newspaper, the Express and Echo. Kirstie also appeared on ITV News several times as they followed her journey, appeared on Russell Howard’s Good News, and in several national newspapers. Kirstie has been filmed throughout her transplant journey for a documentary for BBC3 entitled Love on the Transplant List, which was shown on BBC3 in November 2011.

Kirstie is a hugely proactive and energetic young lady. Her determination and inner strength has helped her survive the insurmountable, and we are incredibly proud to have her as part of the team. Kirstie says “going from ambassador to advocate is a great opportunity and I just hope I can continue raising awareness so other people like me can have this amazing opportunity.”

You can follow Kirstie's blog at http://kirstie-2ndchanceatlife.blogspot.com/

Please click here to contact Kirstie.