Never Expected This!

A night to celebrate the wonderful work of the charity Kidney Wales at the St.David's Hotel and Spa in beautiful Cardiff Bay.  It was their Ambassador Dinner and I was chuffed to be invited.

I didn't know many people, the team at the office and one of my transplant nurses was also there, oh and a few of the Cardiff Devils squad.  My transplant nurse was really chuffed as she ended up on a table with a couple of them, and had her photo taken with them.  She had a beaming big smile on her face.

It was a lovely dinner and then it was time to announce some of the award winners.  The first award was Ambassador of the Year and there were 3 nominees, imagine my surprise when my name was announced as one of the three.  I didn't win but I did win the next one, the Walk Organiser of the Year.  I had to go on stage and answer a few questions, at one point I was fighting back the tears, but I do recall that I did make a commitment to hold another Walk for Life in 2020.  So there you have it, it's out there, so look out for more news.

I was chuffed and amazed, I never expected to be put forward for awards, especially considering I only had my transplant in February.  As I said on stage, I'm lucky I've had a transplant, I've got my life back but that doesn't mean I'm moving on and forgetting about all those still suffering.  For me it's about raising awareness, raising funds and trying all that I can to make sure that other people don't go through what I went through.  It's nice to be recognised but I must give back to the community as well.

Feeling blessed and chuffed as I go to sleep tonight.

For more information on Kidney Wales and the work that they do, click here.