A FATHER of three, who has an incurable lung condition, will soon know if he can have a transplant.
Alan Wheeldon, 47, was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) just weeks before marrying his wife, Joanna, last year.
If Alan, who lives with his family on the Bransholme estate, is deemed suitable for a transplant, it could buy him precious more years with his loved ones.
He said: "It is a relief, but also it isn't. It is great that I am getting to that stage and I might be getting somewhere with it, but in another way it has also made it all real.
"At the moment, I don't feel too bad, so I'm not at the point where I can't do things for myself.
"But once you have the transplant, it is done and then you have however long you have left."
IPF is a progressive, incurable lung condition.
Symptoms tend to develop gradually and include shortness of breath, tiredness and an increased risk of chest infections.
Increasingly, patients are being given lung transplants, which rids them of the condition entirely.
But transplant patients have to take drugs to stop their bodies rejecting the new organs and usually have a shorter life expectancy.
Although there are no guarantees, and the length varies from patient to patient, the average time someone lives after a transplant is about ten years.
Alan said: "I've already had some tests in Hull and now I'm going to the transplant specialists in Newcastle on May 2.
"If I get the OK, I'll be put on the transplant waiting list, then I'll just have to wait."
Alan lives with wife Joanna, 36, and three children Courtney, 14, Alan, 12, and Ellie, 11.
Joanna said she was remaining positive about the tests.
She said: "I'm looking forward to it, but also scared at the same time.
"But you have to stay positive and, on the whole, we are."
