A liver transplant patient is backing QEHB Charity’s Christmas Campaign after undergoing a life-saving operation on Boxing Day.

Francis Tavernor, a retired history teacher and later an employee in an NHS occupational therapy department, aged 64, from Herefordshire, underwent a liver transplant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham on Boxing Day, 26th December, 2012, after suffering from ulcerative colitis and then PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) for over four decades. By early 2012, Francis was in desperate need of a new liver in order to save his life.

He said: “My time was fast running out. As my condition worsened I felt helpless. My wife of 13 years, Eileen, was doing everything for me. I thought that if I wasn’t going to get a transplant I didn’t really want to go on for too much longer.  I was afraid of becoming more and more of a burden to Eileen, losing my ability to enjoy life, and experiencing the loss of my ability to think clearly.”

Eileen, a retired vicar and scientist in chemical pathology, who met Francis thanks to the work of match-making friends, said: “for 12 months we waited for the phone to ring. We left the house with mobiles attached to lanyards around our necks. We couldn’t miss the call from the hospital.”

Francis was called to the QE five times before he had a successful transplant. “I can’t fault the QE. The staff were fantastic – every one of them – and I knew that they were doing all that they could for me.  I was fit for transplant each time but unfortunately the organs were judged to be not suitable, for a variety of reasons.”

Therefore, Christmas Day of 2012 saw the pair considering that this could be their last Christmas together.

“We sat and talked, we held hands, and we cried. We really thought it was our last Christmas together; I had only a few months left.”

Unbeknownst to the brave couple, everything was about to change. At 10:20pm on Christmas Day, as Francis was preparing to go to bed, the phone rang.

Eileen said: “For the first time in 12 months I didn’t think it would be the hospital calling. I picked up the receiver to hear the words, ‘We may have a belated Christmas present for you.’”

Francis and Eileen made the 90 minute journey to the QE, and to their joy and relief Francis finally underwent the successful transplant on Boxing Day morning.

“As we watched the dawn come up over Birmingham on Boxing Day morning we were hoping for a new beginning for Francis; whilst realising that in another hospital, in another part of the country, another family was facing an ending.  We will never forget the courage and generosity of the donor’s family.”

Now the kind-hearted pair, who have had three happy years together since the successful operation, are backing QEHB Charity’s Christmas Campaign.

Over 80,000 patients will visit the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham over the festive period. From elderly care patients with few or no family members, to children receiving radiotherapy, a gruelling course of treatments five days a week for six weeks, over 1,000 patients will face the prospect of spending Christmas Day in the hospital. QEHB Charity wants to bring Christmas to these patients and the staff who will care for them over the festive period, from providing hampers for each ward to erecting Christmas trees across the hospital.

Francis said: “I had a liver transplant on Boxing Day and the ward was in full use. The care really is 365 days a year and the dedication of staff is phenomenal. I’m so pleased to support QEHB Charity’s campaign to bring Christmas to patients and staff at the hospital. We want to bring a little sparkle and kindness to people who, for whatever reason, find themselves in hospital at Christmas.”

To find out more about and donate to QEHB Charity’s Christmas Campaign visit www.qechristmas.org, or call 0121 371 4852.

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