How the World looks upside down!

Nathan one of our wonderful staff on the ward decided to undertake one of the more unique 20 challenges during Organ Donation Week. He did 20 handstands around the Gym (please don’t try it at home!!!) and raised a fantastic £293 in the process. Go Nathan

Organ Donation Week. Food Challenge:

To eat 20 types of fruit and veg during the month of September

Fruit and vegetables should make up about one third of what we eat each day.  Aim to have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day. Variety is important! Different types and colours of fruits and vegetables contain different combinations of important nutrients, like fibre and vitamins, which our bodies need to stay healthy. So, to get the most nutritional benefit out of your 5 A DAY, try to have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from each of colour of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and white. 

 Help us create a rainbow for Wythenshawe Hospital Transplant and VAD unit.  Please send photos of the different fruit and vegetables you’ve eaten in September to :   lyndaellis@newstartcharity.org

We’ll cut out the pictures and create a rainbow for the unit to reflect the diverse range of people who require a transplant and for the hope the rainbow icon instils in us.  

Use the list below to help you eat a rainbow of fruit and vegetable:

Tips to help you eat more fruit and vegetables:

Morning:

• Add fresh, tinned or dried fruit to your breakfast cereal, porridge or to a portion of low fat natural yogurt.
• Try mashing a banana and mixing it into your porridge – this still provides sweetness, without having to add sugar, honey or syrups.
• Add grilled tomatoes or mushrooms to some scrambled eggs.
• Have a piece of fresh fruit as a morning snack.
• Have a glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% fruit/vegetable juice or smoothie (but remember, combined, this will only count as a maximum of one portion of your 5 A DAY).

Afternoon and Evening:

• Always include fruit and/or vegetables with each meal.
• Have a side salad with your main meal or add salad like lettuce, cucumber, and/or tomato to your sandwiches for extra crunch! Avoid high fat dressings.
• Add plenty of vegetables to soups, stews, curries, pasta, and rice dishes (you could even add some frozen vegetables to your rice!)
• Add extra vegetables (or fruit) to a thin based pizza – try mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, pineapple or sweetcorn.
• Have a side of vegetables with your main meal – peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage are great with a roast dinner, shepherd’s pie or stew.
• Try adding other vegetables like peas, carrots, spring onion, sweet potato or swede to your mashed potatoes.
• Add grated carrot or courgette to your pasta sauces like bolognaise, or stews and curries.

Snacks:

• Try replacing your usual snack with vegetable sticks like carrot, cucumber or celery (you could dip these into some low fat hummus to make your snack a bit more exciting).
• Instead of crackers or toast with cheese, why not mix it up and try avocado on a slice of wholemeal toast, or rice cakes with some low fat hummus and tomato slices!
• Swap sugary snacks, like biscuits, for a piece of fruit.
• Instead of a sweet pudding, why not try low fat natural yogurt, topped with chopped banana, strawberries and a sprinkle of seeds or nuts.

Top Tips:

• Texture – If someone in your family doesn’t like the texture of chopped vegetables, try grating carrots or courgettes into your food to add flavour. Or make a soup or sauce with added vegetables and blend until smooth.
• Seasonality – Try a new fruit or vegetable each week to increase variety. Why not pick seasonal fruits and vegetables* which can often be cheaper.
• Fruit juice – Have a glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% orange juice with fortified cereal for breakfast – the vitamin C in orange juice can help the body absorb iron from the cereal.
• Frozen varieties – Frozen fruit and vegetables can contain just as many nutrients as fresh. Indeed, as they are frozen rapidly after harvest, they may contain more of some vitamins than fresh vegetables that are a few days old. They could also help you reduce waste as they keep much longer and are more economical as you only have to cook what you need.
• Tinned varieties – Choose tinned fruits or vegetables in natural juice or water, with no added sugar or salt.

What is a portion?

A portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g. This is around:

• 1 medium sized piece of fruit such as a banana, apple, pear, orange or nectarine
• Half of a large grapefruit or avocado
• 1 dessert bowl of salad
• 2 or more small fruits such as plums, satsumas, kiwi fruit or apricots
• A large handful of berries, cherries or grapes
• 2 broccoli spears
• 3 heaped tablespoons of peas, carrots or sweetcorn
• 4 heaped tablespoons of cooked cabbage, spinach or curly kale

Dried fruit:

• One portion of dried fruit is 30g, and this can count as a portion of your 5 A DAY.
• You only need 30g of dried fruit because the portion size is based on the weight of the fresh fruit.
• This is equivalent to around one heaped tablespoon of dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries or sultanas
• Dried fruit can stick to teeth, which may lead to tooth decay, so it’s best to keep dried fruit to mealtimes and not between meals.

Juices and Smoothies:

• 150 ml glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice or smoothie counts as a maximum of 1 of your 5 A DAY.
• Have no more than a total of 150ml per day from juices and smoothies combined. This is because when a fruit is juiced or blended, sugars are released which can cause damage to teeth.
• No matter how much you drink, only one 150ml portion will count as one of your 5 A DAY.

Beans and pulses:

• One portion of any ‘pulse’, such as beans, peas or lentils, is 80g.
• This is equivalent to three heaped tablespoons.
• No matter how much you eat, pulses will only count as one of your 5 A DAY.

Useful websites:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/5-a-day/colourful-foods

Heaven Sent Taylor Made

Organ Donation Week

A ‘digitally focused’ Organ Donation Week will be taking place from the 7^th to the 13^th of September 2020. Despite this year’s COVID-19 challenges, the organisers are encouraging fundraisers and those from the organ donation community to participate in raising awareness in their own amazing online ways. Community gatherings may not be possible this year, but participants can find other ways of spreading the message of organ donation, and of raising money for the cause.

Since 20^th May 2020, all adults in England are now automatically considered to be potential organ donors, unless they’ve officially opted out, informed their family of a desire to opt out, or they belong to one of the excluded groups. This system is also called ‘Max and Keira’s Law’ and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) urges families to talk about their organ donation decisions, especially during Organ Donation Week.

I am writing this as the publisher of a book ‘Heaven Sent, Taylor Made’ – Judith Taylor’s story of her daughter, Penny who died 30 years ago.

Penny was a Cystic Fibrosis sufferer who underwent a heart and lung transplant at Papworth Hospital, in the years before her passing. Her parents promised Penny that they would publish her story, along with a selection of her wonderful artwork, poetry, thoughts and letters. Thirty years later, they have done this, and I am proud to have facilitated the production of this comprehensive and inspiring book.

Without the care of her parents and friends, the Cystic Fibrosis medical specialists, the support of The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and her heart and lung transplant, Penny’s life would have been considerably shorter, and considerably less creative and wonderful.

I hadn’t thought in any depth about organ donation and transplantation until I began working with Judith on ‘Heaven Sent’. But now, two years later, I realise just how crucial organ donation has been to the lives and wellbeing of so many people. I also realise the value of the extra time gained. Penny Taylor put her extra time to good use, and the contents of this book speak profoundly of a life well lived. Penny was a thoughtful, artistic and bright girl, and her words and pictures inspire.

If you’d like a copy of ‘Heaven Sent, Taylor Made’, it is available on Amazon, and from the Scott Martin Productions website (www.scottmartinproductions.com). It is a large, full-colour book, and all author royalties will be split between The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and New Start.

Thank you to all involved, from me, from Penny’s parents Judith and John, and from all whose lives have been impacted by organ donation.

Lesley Atherton, Publisher, Scott Martin Productions

Organ Donation Week 7-13th September 2020

This year we have decided to set a bit of a fun challenge to people of all ages and abilities THE 20 CHALLENGE! please have a look at the information to give you a few ideas. If you fancy having a go then please let us know and we can send you out the poster to hold up on your photo or video of you taking part in your challenge. Which we will then compile onto a video.

There is already a 20 mile cycle ride planned from the Transplant Unit for people to join, further details to follow…..If you fancy raising money for us whilst undertaking your personal challenge please get in touch so we can send you out forms and a link to the event fundraising page.

Good Luck and most of all have FUN