Thread by @Paulinebroon

Absolutely spitting feathers this morning. I won't link to it, but Rachel Johnson, in the Daily Fail, talking about her drinking habits during lockdown, casually referring to her husband pressing 'send on his Wine Society monthly order, then adding, in brackets, as a funny…

little aside, that 'he has a fresh, pink, reasonably new liver thanks to a transplant by the NHS and therefore thinks that he can start all over again' made me feel physically sick.

Does she think that they grow fresh, pink, reasonably new livers in a lab? That they have them waiting around on ice in case some irresponsible toff needs one?

My husband had a liver transplant last year. It was easily the most difficult thing he or any of the family have had to go through. When he was in hospital for pre-op tests, his doctor noticed that he had a 0% lager by his bed and became very agitated.

The next day a social worker arrived to talk to him about the dangers of drinking even 0% drinks, in case it led to him going back to drinking alcohol. Given that he hadn't had an alcoholic drink for 15 years, since he was diagnosed with Hep C, my husband was able to…

…reassure the social worker that he wouldn't be going back to drinking post-transplant. I felt hurt and upset on his behalf, and not a little worried about him being bumped off the transplant list if they thought he was going to go back to drinking, so…

I wrote to the consultant to reassure him that should he be lucky enough to get a transplant he wouldn't be taking any chances with it. Christ, I make him a separate, non-boozy Xmas cake every bloody year and his mother's trifle is just a memory.

So you're not telling me that Ivo's doctors would be best pleased to read that he's still swigging down the vino with gusto. However…

…the fact that a couple of entitled toffs don't give a shit about protecting the NHS's investment or indeed, displaying a shred of gratitude for that investment comes as no surprise and it isn't what made me so fucking angry this morning.

Despite the pain and worry that we went through as a family, it is nothing compared to what the donor of my husband's 'fresh, pink, reasonably new liver' went through so that he could keep on living a happy, healthy life for a few more years.

Somewhere out there is a grieving family and I hope that they know that we will never forget the kindness that they showed at a time of unbearable grief. I hope they know that the debt we owe to them will never be paid and that we are more than grateful.

I don't know whether Rachel Johnson's family are in contact with the family who donated their loved one's organ. Having read her flippant comments this morning I expect not, and I really, really hope not. I can't imagine the pain they will be in now if they are.

I used to think quite kindly of Rachel Johnson, given that we had something so profound in common and that she at least from time to time appears to distance herself from her brother's idiocy. Now I am ashamed I ever did.

Sorry for the long thread. I would be grateful, if you've made it this far, if you might be kind enough to retweet the thread.