Matlock dad’s emotive tribute to organ donor who gave him the gift of life

David Limb is thankful he can have a Christmas at home with his wife Carrie-Ann and daughters Lillie-May and Tillie.

This time last year, David Limb was an in-patient at Nottingham’s City Hospital.

He was suffering from pneumonia related to kidney problems, having been treated at the renal unit since 2007.

David was undergoing dialysis while waiting for nine months for a kidney and pancreas transplant, which he received in April this year from an unknown donor.

David explained: “All we know about him is that he was a 43-year-old male who had passed away and signed up to be an organ donor. I think about him every day—he’s changed my life.”

This Christmas David will be at home with his wife and two young daughters, aged five and eight.

He said: “It’s made a massive difference to us as a family. It’s given us our lives back. This Christmas will be so special.”

David is giving a special thank-you this Christmas to the person who transformed his life, and hopes it can do the same for other people in need.

He has dedicated a Christmas light to his donor as part of Nottingham Hospitals Charity’s annual Lights to Celebrate scheme.

The campaign encourages people to sponsor the Trees of Light, displayed at the City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre during the festive period.

Anyone sponsoring a Lights to Celebrate light is invited to include a written dedication in the Nottingham Hospitals Charity Book of Life, which is available for viewing during December and January.

Lights are typically dedicated to a loved one who has died, or to a special person whose life a sponsor wants to celebrate.

David’s dedication to his unknown donor reads: “Our thoughts are with your family every day, but without you donating our lives wouldn’t be the same. Thank-you for giving me a new life.”

Sponsors are able to decide which ward, area or particular appeal their donation goes towards, meaning that by dedicating a light, a person can help the cause that is closest to their heart. Naturally, David chose the renal unit.

To sponsor a light or for more information about the scheme, call 0115 962 7905, or email [email protected].

The charity helps provide added extras that make a difference to patient care at Nottingham’s hospitals—like specialist equipment, improved facilities, research and staff development. For more details see www.nottinghamhospitalscharity.org.uk.To register as a donor, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk.