Muriel 00.30

Muriel was going to feature in my ‘story’ which isn’t being told right now because I’m a lazy toad and I’m not doing it – queen of procrastination again.

Muriel was one of my best friends. She was physically several years younger, mentally, much younger. She had been highly protected by her parents and she was growing up late, if you like.

Muriel had a heart problem and to this day, I’m not really sure what because although her father told Sean, just in case she should have any problems while she was out with us, we were told very little and we told we shouldn’t know.

Muriel’s parents wanted to protect her from being different. The wrapped her up in cotton wool.

I found Muriel frustrating because she didn’t understand when the real world didn’t match the she wanted it to match.

Four years ago this September, Muriel decided to undergo an operation. It would reverse some of the valves in her heart and enable her to live a ‘normal’, healthy life. She was told that once her heart fatigued, there would be no replacing it. She was told if she had this operation, she would be able to have children.

Muriel died.

The operation didn’t work. They couldn’t reverse the valves because when the surgeon tried to the work, he’d got it wrong. He knew it was wrong. It was one of the first operations to have been done in Belgium, if not the first. Muriel fought on life support for three and a half weeks.

We fought with her, but there was no way that she could win the battle.

Further research could have prevented that surgeon from offering that surgery then. Or it could have provided him with the tools to make it work.

Please don’t let Muriel’s death be in vain. If you can spare, just a  pound, please sponser me: http://www.bhf.org.uk/default.aspx?page=7900&p=85676