Organ donor, Adrienne Fry’s living legacy
On the 30th Anniversary of the Organ Donor Register, a Gloucestershire family have talked about the living legacy left by Adrienne Fry.
Adrienne, 78 donated her liver and a kidney after suffering a catastrophic brain haemorrhage.
And the recipient of her life saving liver - an Army veteran with 23 years’ service in his 50s -wrote a heartwarming letter of thanks to Adrienne’s husband, Paul of Bishops Cleeve.
Paul said the soldier had served in conflicts throughout the world and wrote to him saying:
“Your family have given me the reason to live due to the transplant. I have never been so lucky to be in such a good place.
“I know that the liver is not mine and I must treat it with respect. I will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for me.”
Paul added: “The letter was anonymous and he signed it saying - ‘I am the luckiest veteran alive.’”
Adrienne’s living legacy is a small village infants school in the Gambia after she retired as head teacher of Benhall infants school in Cheltenham.
On her retirement, Adrienne’s husband said she spent all the money from her lump sum pension payout to finance the building of an infants school at Batokunku. The couple also built their own home there - Africa was always at the top of her bucket list says Paul.
He had no knowledge that Adrienne was on the Organ Donor Register (ODR) when she was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where she died.
“When she renewed her driving licence in 2007 she had ticked the box on the form to be on the Organ Donation Register”, said Paul.
He commented: “I can’t speak highly enough of Adrienne’s treatment at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital - the consultant and the specialist nurses were magnificent.”
