A woman whose life was saved by a donor liver which almost perished in a plane crash is taking to the catwalk – as a MODEL.
Kate Trevener was hours from death when the Cessna plane carrying the vital organ burst into a fireball after crashing in heavy fog at Birmingham airport.
Frail Kate, who was 18 at the time, had suffered acute liver failure when a donor organ was found in Northern Ireland on November 19, 2010.
The pilots cheated death and where hauled from the wreckage by a fireman who then risked his life again to pull the charred box which contained the liver to safety.
The box was strapped to a motorbike and police closed major roads during rush hour as it was raced to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Incredibly, just 45 minutes after the plane crashed the liver was successfully transplanted into Kate.
But the ordeal was not over for Kate, from Birmingham, as her body rejected the organ just eight days after the life-saving operation.
A second liver was rejected in 2012 before a third was found and she could finally get on with her life.
Now brave Kate’s recovery has come so far she has reached the finals of Miss Birmingham, and is gunning for a place in Miss England.
Pretty Kate, now 20, said she decided to take part in the competition to raise awareness of the need for organ donors.
She said: “I’m going out to experience the new life I’ve been given.
“We didn’t think there would be a life for me, but my health is the best it has been. I’ve had no hospital admissions and my blood is fine.
“I saw an advert for the competition and said, ‘that would be a giggle’.
“Before I fell ill, I wanted to go into modelling, but my confidence went down.
“I was surprised they got back to me, It’s exciting, but I’m very very nervous.
“The bottom line is if I’d not had a transplant I wouldn’t be where I am now. Organ donation has been a taboo subject, but if people can see it as an important issue that would be brilliant.”
The former fashion student now dedicates her life to campaigning for more donors to come forward.
She will enter the competition on Saturday supported by mum Tracey, and dad Mike at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham.
