A dance teacher is looking forward to “dancing herself fit” after undergoing a life-saving double lung transplant.

Brave Sharee McPhail, of Moser Avenue, Swain House, says she has a renewed zest for life after she received the lungs of a 55-year-old woman in an eight-hour operation at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

The 27-year-old now plans to return to her job as a dance teacher after Christmas.

She said: “I struggle to put into words how I feel towards the donor and their family – I am just extremely grateful. You couldn’t give a better gift.”

Sharee was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which progressively damages the lungs. By the end of 2010, her lungs were so badly affected that she was told she needed a double lung transplant to survive.

Now Sharee is calling on everyone to join the organ donor register to enable others waiting for transplants to receive the greatest gift this Christmas.

“Life since my transplant hasn’t been without its bumps in the road, however, I can do things that most people take for granted.

“I can cook dinner, wash my own hair, walk up the stairs and above all that I can breathe deeply.”

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