TEN years ago when dad Derek Hunter cast his eyes on his daughter Deborah he could only pray he would still be alive to see her the following month.

We can only imagine what it meant to him and Deborah when, two years ago, he walked her down the aisle on her wedding day.

For Derek, from Westgate in Morecambe, was the first man in the whole of the North West to undergo a heart and lung transplant in this region.

A husband to Catherine, father of a girl aged nine and a son, John, aged six, Derek, then in his mid 40s, had been becoming progressively worse for ten years. Barely able to walk his doctors gave him about three months to live before having the still pioneering operation. His young son had only ever known his father as a very sick man. "I'd been ill for about ten years before the operation, from being in my early 30s," remembered Derek, a plumber. "The 1980s were just a terrible decade. I got to have the operation just because everything matched right."

But it wasn't all easy after his operation. His muscles had deteriorated so badly Derek could hardly walk. With effort he rebuilt his life and now lives with no restrictions.

Derek talked about the joys he has experienced in the ten years since the operation: "Walking my Deborah down the aisle was a wonderful moment. I would say that's been the crowning glory apart from just having my health of course. My son had only ever seen me as an ill man so it's been great to spend time with him as someone healthy. Time with my wife Catherine has been wonderful to have."

And, of course, his family have been more than a little bit pleased to have Derek around. So to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the operation the whole family and very close friends went for a quiet meal at a Morecambe restaurant on Saturday night. You can be sure Derek appreciated every last moment."

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