A double lung transplant mum who defied all the odds has spoken of the strong will that has kept her going.
Jan Rogers, 42, of Rogerstone, received her life saving operation a year ago at the Harefield Hospital transplant centre, in Middlesex. She is now planning a trip to New York.
Jan needed the operation because her lungs had been badly damaged by cystic fibrosis. Doctors said when she was born that she would not live past the age of 16. They then said she would not live past the age of 31 and would never be able to have children. Jan proved them all wrong and has a son, Will, who is 15.
She was then told last May that she only had six months to live unless a donor could be found.
She was finally given her transplant operation in November, but then subsequent kidney failure left her in intensive care.
She recalls: “Over Christmas they told my husband to say goodbye to me, because they didn’t think I would make it. It was a very slow recovery.
“I’m very strong-willed and I think that kept me going. I was prepared to live and prepared to die, because in that situation you have to see it from both sides.
“It’s taken a year to recover, to feel anywhere near 100 per cent again, and that’s what I was told it would take.
“I’ve been back for regular checks and I’m going back next week, when hopefully they’ll give me clearance to go abroad.”