Priscilla Needs New Breath Of Life

By Duncan Horscroft on January 15, 2014 in News

For more than twelve months Priscilla Felice has been helping the Waverley Council Parks and Garden team breathe life into the Bronte Gully and surrounding parkland.

She has been an integral part of a tireless gang of workers who have helped transform the area into a beautiful ecosystem full of native plants and grasses.

Now Priscilla needs our help to breathe new life back into her 29 year-old body after she was recently diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

In November, Priscilla was going about her normal duties when she pulled up short of breath, suffering from what she thought was a painful stitch.

After stopping at the Prince Of Wales Hospital the next day to seek some pain relief, it was discovered she had a hole in her heart and that she would require a lung transplant because of the long-term damage that had been done.

“Since I was young I had always suffered from shortness of breath, but it was put down to asthma and I never suspected anything different,” Priscilla said.

“I was gobsmacked when I was told I would need a lung transplant.”

Priscilla has now accepted her fate and is dealing with the problem with a positive attitude and looking forward to getting back to work on light duties while awaiting a donor.

She said it would be at least six months before she’ll be ready for a transplant.

“I was a smoker and I have to wait for my body to clean up before an operation,” she said.

“In some ways it has been a blessing because now I have a much different outlook on life and I realise how important it is to do something positive every day rather than sit back and just take things for granted.

“I can finish my horticultural course within the next six months and, all going well, I should recover from a transplant operation in less than a year.”

A fundraiser will be held for Priscilla on Friday, February 7 at Bronte Bowling Club, which will also help raise awareness for Donate Life Week from February 24 to March 3.

If you want to help out with donations or attend the fundraiser, go to priscillaqueenofthesea@gmail.com or call (02) 8760 6480.