“I DON’T need any Christmas gifts this year. This is my gift.”

A life-changing operation has ensured a Weymouth woman will be having a very happy and healthy Christmas. And more than this, she finally has a future to look forward to.

Katrina Vernon’s kidneys first failed in 2012. She had been waiting for a donor for 18 months when, in 2014, they failed again.

Katrina then had to undergo dialysis three times a week.

In September, Katrina and her husband Sam finally got the news they were waiting for– a match had become available. A young man who had sadly passed away decided to sign up to the donor list and on his death, he saved nine people’s lives.

Katrina, who works as a teaching assistant at Weymouth College, said: “Nothing had happened over the summer holidays. On the Tuesday, on the way in to work at about 9am, I got a call from Bristol hospital. I wondered, ‘why is Bristol calling me?’ “They said they’ve got a really good match for me..”

That day Katrina went in to surgery for five hours while Sam, Katrina’s mum and brother waited anxiously.

Sam said: “It was one of the most tense afternoons of my life.

There was a lot of pacing.”

For Katrina though, it seemed like it was all over in a second.

For a few weeks after the surgery, Katrina would need to go back to the hospital every other day.

Katrina now visits Dorset County Hospital every fortnight and has a phone consultation every other week.

Without the new kidney, Katrina would never have been able to have a children, one of many ways her life will now change.

She said: “It means we can have a normal life. I can go back to work full-time. I can lead the life that I always wanted.

“Most women want to be a mum and I never thought I’d have to fight to be a mother. I thought it was pretty much guaranteed that I would become one.”

One of Katrina’s aims for 2017 is to take place in the national transplant games.

She is no longer restricted by dialysis and is enjoying hobbies including arts and crafts.

Katrina and Sam are also now enjoying cooking together.

The couple is looking forward to enjoying the festive season, which would have involved dialysis on Boxing Day before the donation.

Katrina wanted to urge people to make sure they are on the organ donor register.

She said: “People that I know have signed the register because of what happened to me.

“A lot of people that are on the waiting list are very close to death. People die on the list, it’s a very real possibility.”

She also wanted to thank Weymouth College for their “amazing support” and the donor’s family.

She said: “I have written a letter to his family. It’s to let them know that he has made a difference. It’s transformed our lives.

“I don’t need any Christmas gifts this year. This is my gift.”