Simon Ward and Derek Fitzgerald

For almost 10 years of his life, my guest on today’s show, Derek Fitzgerald, was just struggling to stay alive.  Firstly he was diagnosed with non Hodgkins Lymphoma, and after surgery and chemotherapy he was clear and in remission only to find that the chemo drugs had damaged his heart.  He was told that his heart was failing, and he spent the next 7 years slowly deteriorating until 2011 when he received a heart transplant.  Since that day he hasn’t looked back.  As you might imagine, from someone who has stared death in the face on a daily basis, Derek has been in a hurry to achieve the seemingly impossible. This is a fascinating and emotional story of one man’s survival against the odds, and after listening you will no longer believe there are limits to doing anything you put your mind to.

In this episode you will discover:

• Why after surgery to remove a tumour in his abdomen, Derek had to learn to walk again before starting chemotherapy 
• The paradox of wanting heart disease to get worse so you can make it onto the transplant list
• How a phrase from the film "Shawshank Redemption” epitomises Derek’s life
• Why Derek feels like he should "Honour the Gift”
• Organ donations and why it should be an opt-out process and not an opt-in 
• The journey from heart transplant recipient in Jan 2011 to Ironman fisher in 2013
• Becoming the first cancer survivor and heart transplant recipient to complete the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii (2015)

Derek is an inspirational person and you can find out more about him by visiting his website Recycledmanspeaks.com

You can also follow Derek on Facebook by visiting his page HERE

Derek is an ambassador for The Ironman Foundation whose mission is to create positive, tangible change in race communities through grant funding and volunteerism.

Organ Donation - In 2020 the law is changing in the UK to an opt out system. Until then, you can opt-in register to donate your organs.

Please visit this page to register your decision —>>> Organ Donations - Opt In

UK Organ Donation week 2019 - 2-8 September

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.