I CAN BREATHE AGAIN

The cystic fibrosis sufferer was not expected to live beyond her 33rd birthday. But now she is getting married after a successful heart and lung transplant.

Juliette, of Freeman Road, Didcot, said: "I can breathe again. Now I can walk to the nursery with my daughter Aimee and play with her in the park. I walk home from the shops nearly half a mile away with the shopping and I can walk the dog."

Juliette used to be plagued with chest and respiratory problems and did not have the strength to pick up four-year-old Aimee or play with her. She could not even carry out household chores for more than a few minutes before needing a rest. And after being diagnosed when Aimee was born, she was told the average life expectancy of cystic fibrosis sufferers is 33. She is that age now.

Last year she went through a divorce after ten years of marriage, was threatened with having her home being repossessed, and was also diagnosed with a heart condition after a mild heart attack.

But everything began to change after a chance Valentine's Day meeting with former childhood sweetheart John Blowfield, also 33, who runs an auto service centre in Didcot. The couple's renewed friendship blossomed into romance and they will hold their engagement party next month.

Juliette's year got better still when doctors decided she should have her double transplant. She eventually hopes to resume her fledgling accountancy career.

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