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Waiting for a transplant Lives lost waiting Recipient of a transplant Giving the gift of life

Jake Hubbard is 30 years old. He recently married the love of his life and desperately needs a life-saving double lung transplant.

I was born on 3rd April 1978 and at the age of 2 I was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and started treatment straight away. My parents worked hard to keep me healthy and I was a very fit, healthy and active teenager, only very occasionally needing a hospital admission.

My parents got me interested in Taekwondo which was brilliant for my chest as it was a very demanding sport, and I went on to train with the British team. I was also a keen singer and dancer and studied performing arts. I put CF to the back of my mind and never let it stop what I wanted to do or achieve; I knew one day, it would start to show and take its toll, but for now, I was going to live my life. I got accepted into one of the biggest dance schools in Europe but my CF made it such a struggle that I had to make the horrible decision to quit and moved back to Southampton to be close to my family and friends.

About 5 years ago, I started to have more frequent chest infections. My lung function was declining and I was having hospital admissions twice a year. Keeping up with my friends was getting harder and doing Taekwondo became impossible and I had to give up training. My doctor then talked to me about going on the waiting list for a lung transplant as my lung function was so bad. So in October 2007 I was listed on the active transplant waiting list.

So far in 2008 I have had four false alarms, where I’ve been called but the transplant has not gone ahead. I even got to the point of being prepped for theatre and right at the last moment I was told that the organs were no good and was then sent home. You cannot describe the mixture of emotions that go through your head. You think to yourself that you need this new lease of life but then you are scared to take that risk. What If I don’t wake up? What if this is the last time I see anyone? What if the new lungs don’t work? How long have I got to live if I don’t have a transplant? There are thousands of questions and emotions that never end.

In June this year I was told I had grown a vicious bug; if they could not kill it or suppress it then I would not be able to be transplanted. I was immediately taken off the waiting list. The week before I had had a false call and nearly had some new organs, and now I was being told that I might never have the chance again. It was like having a knife stabbed through me. I knew that If I do not have this transplant, I probably only have a few years left to live.

My girlfriend Laura (who is now my wife) was so upset and cried for days. To see your loved one that upset is horrible. As shocked and devastated as I was I was also determined to get rid of this bloody bug. I am now 30 years old and have come a hell of a long way, there is no way I am being stopped by some selfish little bug inside my body. I had a month in hospital with intensive IVs and then another month of IVs at home.

On Monday the 1st Sept I had the good news that the bug was gone and was put back on the active list the next morning. That same evening I had a call saying they had some lungs for me. I was prepped but then at the last moment was told the organs were no good. What a rollercoaster. Should I cry or laugh? At least I knew that I was back on the list and that I still had a good chance of a new lease of life.

I am on a machine to help me breathe at night to give my lungs a rest and also use oxygen overnight. I find the simple things very hard to do such as go up and down stairs, walk to the shop, even having a shower can get me out of breath. I cannot go out clubbing anymore. If I try to go to the pub with my friends, I find I am home within an hour. I have my good days and my bad days. There are starting to be more bad days than good days now.

Laura and I have been together nearly 5 years now. On August 2nd this year, we got married. Laura is so supportive and is my angel and such a rock for me. It must be so hard for her to see me go from a person who is as fit as a fiddle to someone who cannot walk up stairs without getting out of breath. As horrible as it is, we both know that someone out there will soon very kindly donate some lungs to me. And even though someone’s life will have been lost...another life will be saved.