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Market Deeping firefighter says double lung transplant was 'greatest gift ever'




A firefighter has spoken of his gratitude at receiving the ‘greatest gift ever’.

Michael Culff is recovering from a double lung transplant after being diagnosed with aluminosis - more commonly known as welder’s lung.

He first noticed a problem three years ago, having actively worked as a firefighter and a welder for 30 years.

Michael and Raechell Culff
Michael and Raechell Culff

Michael was becoming breathless more easily and was sent for an X-ray at Stamford Hospital.

It revealed changes to his lungs so he was referred to Peterborough City Hospital and then to the Royal Papworth in Cambridge.

In August 2020 doctors delivered the devastating diagnosis, giving Michael a life expectancy of three to five years without a transplant.

Michael Culff pictured the day after his double lung transplant
Michael Culff pictured the day after his double lung transplant

He said: “It was a bit of a shock. They told me not to Google it but I did.

“I’d got to the point where even talking was making me breathless. It was like having an anaconda in my chest squeezing my lungs. I could barely walk and needed oxygen to be able to do anything.”

Michael, 51, was told his condition wasn’t bad enough to join the transplant list straight away, so he was discharged with advice to stay as active as possible.

Former colleagues from the fire service visited Michael at home after his transplant
Former colleagues from the fire service visited Michael at home after his transplant

In November 2021 his health took a turn for the worse when he picked up an infection, and he was added to the list soon after.

Life was put on hold with Michael unable to venture more than an hour away from home, but although he was signed off from the fire service, he and wife Raechell continued their work as foster parents, even providing respite care to new children.

Throughout last year, Michael was called into hospital five times for surgery, but each occasion turned out to be a false alarm when doctors found problems with the donated organs.

Michael Culff had a double lung transplant
Michael Culff had a double lung transplant

Michael, who lives in Deeping St James, said: “It makes you quite despondent when they call you in and then it doesn’t happen. I nearly asked them to take me off the list and forget about it.”

In November, Michael, a former watch manager at Market Deeping fire station, received a call for the sixth time. He had friends visiting from America at the time who were helping to hang a new television on the wall.

Michael recalls that one of his last thoughts before leaving the house was that he might never go home and have the chance to watch it.

He was picked up by a medical team and Raechell followed him to Papworth in the car. The couple spent10 minutes together before he was wheeled away.

Surgery started at 8.30pm on November 27 and Raechell was woken by a phone call from the hospital at 2.30am the following morning to say it wasn’t going well and they were struggling to remove the first lung.

Michael was in surgery for 13 hours but made a fairly quick recovery, only spending one day on the intensive care unit and 21 days in hospital overall.

A few days after the transplant, Michael’s thoughts turned to the donor. He was keen to make contact with the family but protocol doesn’t allow this until a year after surgery.

He said: “It’s not an easy thing to go through and your mind goes to some dark places, but it’s all worth it once you get to the other side.

“For the family, it’s traumatic to go through the pain of losing someone, but organ donation means they can live on in a different way.

“There’s no greater gift anyone can give. I feel like the custodian of the most precious gift and I can’t take that for granted.”

Michael will continue to take medication and have regular hospital check ups for life.

He said: “If you can go a year without complications, there’s a good chance you will get another six or seven years.”

As he continues to recover, Michael’s family are keen to promote the benefits of organ donation.

Raechell, 48, said: “We’ll never forget that someone else has been devastated in all of this.

“I never wanted to give my organs until Michael got poorly, but now I’ve joined the register, I give blood and I’ve signed up to give bone marrow.”

Michael, who has always carried a donor card, added: “One person could save nine other lives.”

The law surrounding organ donation in England changed in May 2020. It is now considered that everyone over 18 consents to organ donation unless they opt out or are part of an excluded group.

More than 6,700 people in the UK are currently waiting for a transplant and 2,818 have taken place since April 2022.



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