County Champion: Orla Canning

🌟 Meet Orla Canning from Carlow Town, County Carlow! 🌟

Orla is taking part in this year's VHI Women's Mini Marathon to raise awareness about organ donation and to honour her incredible donor. She is also raising funds for the Irish Kidney Association. "I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at the age of 12 and spent many years of my youth very ill and battling to get it under control," Orla shares. "In my early 20s, I began to notice signs of long-term complications, including diabetic retinopathy, and was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease in my mid-20s shortly after my dad passed away unexpectedly."

Orla's journey to recovery began in 2017 when she was placed on the transplant waiting list. "In Summer 2022, I received the gift of life, a simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant from my incredible donor and their family, just one month after getting engaged to my long-term boyfriend Alan Beaton," she recalls. "My whole life has changed since I received this gift. I am beyond grateful to my donor and their family, who, at a time of great sorrow and pain, made the selfless decision to donate their loved one's organs."

Orla's gratitude for organ donation is profound. "The gift of life through organ donation is truly amazing and is absolutely life-changing. I have been given back my life, my future, my freedom, my goals, and my opportunities," she emphasises. "Organ donation is the most precious and truly amazing gift on earth."

Orla is raising funds for the Irish Kidney Association, an organisation close to her heart. "They are a constant source of support, help, and knowledge for patients and their families, and they play a vital role in raising awareness about organ donation. The work they do is incredible," she says.

If you would like to support Orla's fundraiser, please click the link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/orla-canning-1715197275459?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Forla-canning-1715197275459&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

#VhiWMM #OrganDonation #IrishKidneyAssociation #Carlow #CommunitySupport #Inspiration #Resilience #HeartToHeart #vhiwomensminimarathon