Cycle trek for heart op mum (From York Press)

Heart op mum Wendy Lingham to undertake 22-mile charity bike ride

8:18am Saturday 8th September 2012 in News By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

A woman who was told 18 months ago that she had only weeks to live is setting off on a 22-mile charity bike ride tomorrow.

Wendy Lingham, 32, of Clifton , York, is taking part in the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Broken Hearts Appeal cycle ride through York as a “thank you” to the doctors who saved her life and to raise money for others suffering from heart disease.

Wendy, who has had a heart transplant, said: “It’s the biggest thing I have done since I had it. I have been training as much as I can, when I can and I’m as ready as I can be.

“I am definitely going to finish – there’s real determination here.”

Wendy admitted making plans for her own funeral in 2011 when she was placed on an emergency transplant waiting list after years of suffering from a devastating condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy.

Luckily an 11th-hour donor was found and Wendy says she is now “fitter then ever” and has recently started a part-time job at Mulberry Court care home in Shipton Road.

She said: “During the length of time I was ill. I had community-based heart failure nurses come and visit me in my home on a regular basis. They taught me how to manage my symptoms of heart failure and my medication.

“They were an emotional support and do great work every day. They help to reduce hospital admissions. They were my strength when I was weak. I cannot thank them enough for what they did.”

Wendy will set off from the sports centre at St John’s College, Haxby Road, at 8am tomorrow. To sponsor her, visit justgiving.com/Wendy-Lingham