Why I Became An Organ Donor

When I was growing up, I was never really close to my sister. We had a lot of things in common, but we also did a lot of things differently. It was only really the last few years that we grew close again. I haven't lived at home since I was 18, so space and time helped I'm sure.

All that changed when she gave birth to a beautiful son, Jack, back in January 2012. I became a very proud uncle for the first time, and she became a wonderful mum. Most people are biased and will tell you that their niece or nephew is the most beautiful baby in the world...and I will happily join in and challenge them. Say hello to Jack, enjoying a bus ride in Edinburgh :)

I came back from my travels in mid-March, spent a weekend skiing, Easter in the Lake District, and then finally home, for the first time in 6 months. That timing could not have been more important.

It was great to be home, great to see my family and my sister, and great to see my now walking nephew. We enjoyed drinks in the local pub on the Friday night, and on Saturday afternoon I headed back to London on the train, leaving my car to be fixed at home. I would come back on Tuesday morning to pick it up.

On Sunday afternoon I got a call from my mum saying my sister had been taken into hospital, after feeling dizzy and nauseous, and that she was stable. I didn't think anything more of it, knowing that she'd fine, as she was feeling under the weather on the Saturday morning.

Then, on Monday evening, my world started to fall apart. I received a call from my brother, who was in tears.  He told me my sister had worsened. She had been taken into intensive care with fluid on the brain. Her partner had called my mum and dad into the hospital, which, in my family, sets alarm bells ringing. I tried to reassure him she was in the best possible place, but I knew it was serious.

I arrived back home to floods of tears. Aunties, brother, grandmas, dad, mum...everyone. It sent shockwaves through me. I headed straight to the hospital. My sister was on a life support machine with at least a dozen drips in her arms. Everyone was in complete shock.

I stayed with her until 4:30am in the morning, when my body finally needed rest. I stayed with my mum and her partner in the hospital to support as best I could. The next morning I went to drop off my car at a garage near the hospital, purely to get some air and a change of scenery. It was on my way back, walking along the road, that everything finally hit me. I completely fell apart and had to sit on someones front rockery as I couldn't even stand, tears streaming down my face. At least the rockery plants got a good watering.

Late on the Wednesday morning, we finally received the news we'd known was coming. After final brain stem tests, my sister had passed away, the fluid on her brain causing limitless pressure. The final cause of death - meningitis.

Without even having time to think, we were in front of the organ donor and bereavement team, in the same hospital waiting room we'd spent the previous night. My 25 year old sister had healthy organs, and was a registered donor. We weren't surprised - she always wanted to help everyone and anyone, whether they wanted help or not. She was that type of person.

The surgery took place that night, and we informed her kidney was already top of a critical waiting list, and that it would make it's way to Leeds to help ease someone else's pain that following morning. Right there, in that moment, it all became clear. My sister would strive to help anyone when she was alive, and even hours after her death, she was helping save someone else. That's when I knew I had to become an organ donor.

The following 2 weeks are now a blur. I stayed at home, and all my travels, all the little issues in life paled into complete insignificance. At the funeral, the church was so full that many people had to stand. As a family we received hundreds of cards and messages, which just showed how many lives she touched.

I live life to the full, as did my sister. She was smiling, and always jolly, and so am I. All I could think was 'what would she say if she saw me, not joking or laughing?'. Easy. She'd tell me to stop being a dick and get on with life. That's easier said than done, but that's what I did, and will continue to do. Time is a great healer.

Later this year, or early next year, I plan on doing some sort of activity with friends and family to raise money for Meningitis UK. Part of the frustration we experienced was not knowing how she contracted meningitis. We were left with too many questions. Why? How? Why her? Their research needs to be funded so future families don't experience the same frustration, and that it's diagnosed early so future cases don't become life threatening.

If my sister used her knowledge and skills to help friends and family through the strife of life, then she'd also want me to use my skills to push organ donation and raise awareness for Meningitis UK, and I hope this story goes some way to achieving that.

This post also allows me to say a huge thank you to everyone who has sent messages, cards, offered donations and simply been there for support. Not just for me, but for my whole family.

My sister, her partner, my dad, my brother (and more alarmingly Jack) love their ale, so I thought it only fitting to get us each a tankard, engraved in her memory.

"Go on lad, have what the barmaid says, because every sip will be in memory of Donna Michelle Heyes"

Skydiving in Queenstown

I know what you're thinking. "Why on earth would you do that?!". But then I also know what fellow skydivers are thinking. Well, not thinking....just smiling, acknowledging, and...understanding.

Unlike bungee jumping, doing a skydive was always on my bucket list. If you have a 'you only live once' attitude, then I'm sure it's on many of your bucket lists too. Rightly so - it's one of the most exciting things I did during my 5 month break.

I arrived into Queenstown on 30th January, 2013. Once I'd checked into possibly the best hostel in the world, I took a stroll around the town. It soon became clear that not only was I in one of the best hostels in the world, I was also in one of the most stunning towns in the world.

Looking down over Queenstown and the Remarkables

Queenstown is a outdoors enthusiasts adventure playground. A mecca for mountaineering, sailing, trekking (or tramping as the locals call it), skiing in winter, rugby, cycling, rock climbing, canyon swinging, bungee jumping, skydiving, horse riding and every other outdoor activity you could possibly think of. Even Ray Mears couldn't get bored here. The Queenstown air was filled with adrenaline, and I'm happy to say it was filling my lungs.

Less than one hour later and I'd booked the skydive for the next day, with Nzone Skydive. The rest of the day was a blur. I hired a bike, went cycling round the town, took the gondola to the top of Bob's Peak, and drank a few beers.

I'll hold my hand up in complete honesty at this point. Doing a bungee jump was more nerve-racking than doing a skydive. There. I said it. Sure, you're strapped to your tandem master, you throw yourselves out of that aircraft door, and for some 60 seconds you plummet towards the ground at 200 km per hour. But that's just it....it's you and your tandem master. They control everything, and you're doing it together. A bungee jump is just you, the bungee cord, and your own pure fear. It's your decision, and you are the one in control when you jump.

The weather in New Zealand during the summer months is pretty consistent, so I was delighted when I pulled back the hostel room curtains to reveal almost clear blue skies.

My fellow morning skydivers and I were briefed at the Nzone HQ in the morning, which was followed by a 20 minute drive out to the drop zone. The nerves still hadn't kicked it. I was embracing the fear. Which is more than can be said to the girl who was sat on my right. "I think I'm going to be sick". I just smiled and told her it'll be ok, whilst secretly hoping she would turn the other way if she decided shouting Huey was her new hobby.

We arrived, had a look around, were briefed on jump times, and then we waited. We watched planes fly up, and jumpers drop down, and eventually it was our turn. Sexy boiler suits and harnesses on, we were 20 mins away from boarding the plane.

I'll let this video tell the rest of the story. Free falling in warm air, looking at some of the incredible views around Queenstown, for one full minute, was simply exhilerating.



If you're thinking about going skydiving, go for the highest height. In this case that was 15,000ft. Don't go 12,000ft. Just embrace it, and go jump from the highest point you can - you won't regret it.

All of New Zealand was amazing, but Queenstown had something special. Maybe because it gave me a big slice of fulfilment. Onto my next bucket list item.

Vine - Changing the Way You Travel

When Twitter launched Vine in the last week of January, I had just landed into Christchurch, New Zealand. Me, my backback and my Camera+ loaded iPhone were all set to jump into a campervan and explore the stunning South Island.

Then I downloaded Vine. And I was hooked. It was the perfect tool for capturing travel moments which photos simply just cannot do. If pictures tell a story, then Vine brings stories to life. Stories from the South Island, the North Island and finally China.

Here are a few of my Vines from New Zealand and China, little #6secondpostcards that still make me smile :)











In the late 90's, and even up to 10 years ago, no-one travelled with a smartphone, and rarely with an SLR. It was you, the countries you visited, and the raw photos you brought back. Then smartphones came into play. And then tablets. I was amazed to see how many people travelled with iPads and Macbooks, constantly keeping in touch, keeping connected. It's the era of the Digital Nomad. I can't do that. The only way I can truly get under the skin of a country and culture is to switch off Western life and spend more time doing what the locals do. Seeing what the locals see.

At the same time, I'm a bit of an app geek, so Camera+, 360 Panorama and finally Vine were my weapons of choice to capture cities, landscapes, countryside, sunsets, sunrises and people.

I've read many blog posts from travel bloggers and photographers about what you should take when you travel - DSLR or smartphone? I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, but for the purposes of real-time video capture using Vine, the smartphone wins hands down.

Within one month, Vine changed the way I travelled, giving me a new way to captured and share moments and memories. And now I'm using it wherever I go, capturing motion-and-sound-filled six second postcards.



Happy travels, and happy Vining!