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Annie on Road to Recovery

ANNIE BRUCE, the Stranraer woman who has just received a life saving liver transplant, is well on her way to recovery, her family have said.

Annie's progress has been so good, doctors believe she could be out of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and back home in two to three weeks.

As reported in the Free Press last week, 51-year-old Annie became seriously unwell at home and was rushed to the infirmary for a 12- hour transplant operation. Despite positive early signs, two days later a blockage to one of the main arteries to her liver meant the transplant failed.

Fortunately, a second donor was found, and another transplant was carried out, this time successfully, and Annie was soon taken out of the hospital’s high dependency unit.

The mother of two and former nurse had suffered from the rare condition Primary Biliary Cirrhosis since the age of 25, but her condition only deteriorated seriously earlier this year when her weight dropped to eight stone.

Annie is now in a transplant ward with other patients and is receiving regular visits from family and friends. She is taking tablets to help reduce swelling in her legs — a symptom which was not unexpected — and she was being encouraged to walk around as much as possible with the help of a Zimmer frame.