Double lung transplant patient sails into record books as she races across Atlantic

 
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Benjamin Russell17 August 2012

It was an amazing and dangerous voyage that Justine Laymond never thought she would have the strength to survive.

Londoner Justine, 39, suffers from a rare lung condition that has nearly killed her on countless occasions.

But her determination and sheer stubbornness has seen her become the first double lung transplant patient to cross the Atlantic Ocean aboard a racing yacht.

She has just completed the final section of the gruelling Clipper Round the World race, where she battled through storm force 10 waves, lived at a 45 degree angle for weeks on end and encountered whales and dolphins.

Justine, whose lungs have collapsed 15 times, said: “It represented exactly the kind of challenge I relish. I was always pretty stubborn and up for a challenge even before my illness but what I have been through over the past several years has made me ten times more determined.

To compete in the final leg of the 11-month, 40,000 mile long race, which saw her sailing from New York to Southampton via Nova Scotia, Ireland and the Netherlands, Justine had to undergo intensive preparation.

She said: “Training was really tough and I did struggle. Even with the training under your belt, nothing really prepares you for living at a 45 degree angle for weeks on end, battling through force ten storms and being cooped up with a bunch of other people you barely know in a very confined space.

“I suffered bad bouts of sea sickness on the race leg and wasn’t able to keep down the vital immunosuppressants I need to stay alive. At one point I was pretty ill and thought I would have to give in but then my attitude and stubbornness kicked in and I battled through to the end."

“It was a hard but really rewarding experience. It was wonderful being out in the raw beauty of the natural world, being followed by dolphins, encountering whales and seeing some of the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises on the planet.”

Justine's condition, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), only affects around 120 people in the UK and results in cysts growing inside the lungs.

When the cysts burst it causes the lungs to collapse.

Although this happened twice in her early twenties, Justine wasn't diagnosed with LAM until a decade later.

She went on to suffer 13 more lung collapses and spent six months in Harefield Hospital, where she was placed on full life-support and spent three weeks in an induced coma - after which she had to learn to walk again.

In July 2006 she received her life-saving double lung transplant but still requires regular treatment and a substantial daily cocktail of powerful drugs.

Justine has also competed in a number of British, European and World Transplant Games and is hoping to make team GB in the badminton doubles, shot putt, discuss and possibly javelin events at the world games in South Africa next year.

Justine’s Consultant, Dr Anna Reed, Consultant in Respiratory and Transplant Medicine, added: “Justine is an inspirational woman and I am constantly impressed how she throws herself into life and new challenges. This is a terrific achievement for someone who came repeatedly so scarily close to death prior to transplant. She is a great advert for organ transplantation and an inspiration to other transplant recipients, patients waiting for transplants and to the clinical team.”

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