Transplant Survivor On 80 Mile Trek

1 September 2011, 06:00

An organ transplant survivor's celebrating the 10 year anniversary of her operation with an 80 mile charity trek.

This week Natasha Rogers, from Northampton, is walking from her home to the Harefield Hospital in london where she had a heart and lungs transplant a decade ago.

36 year old Natasha was born with a congenital heart defect and by the age of 26 her health had deteriorated to the point where she was put on the list for a heart and lung transplant.

She waited 6 years for the operation that ultimately saved her life.

After weeks of intensive physio where she not only had to learn how to walk again but also how to breathe properly for the first time, her life has slowly transformed.

Today Natasha is able to do almost anything that a healthy adult can do.

This week, alongside her family she's walking the 80 miles to raise money for the hospital that carried out the surgery.

The route is taking her through Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Luton, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, and Uxbridge.

Her dad Graham told Heart how the operation has transformed her life ''To think of doing this sort of walk 10 years ago was just a dream, and to think of her walking without her having to have oxygen is just incredible.''

And he'd like to thank the donar family that gave Natasha a chance for a normal life ''We don't know who they are, we don't know where they're from but I just hope that they're looking at Natasha now and can get some consolation knowing that they're loss was not in vain''

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