Lucky win on a special day

A twist of fate gave Masterton woman Christine Drysdale a golden glow on Tuesday and helped make a special celebration even better.
Christine, 54, was given a life-saving reprieve when her kid sister Debbie insisted on donating a kidney to put her back on the road to good health and on Tuesday ? four years to the day after the operation ? she struck gold when she opened her copy of the Wairarapa Times-Age.
Although her prize in the paper's Fiji Holiday promotion has so far been only a bag of golden goodie chocolate bars and entry into a draw for one of four trips to Fiji, that's plenty for Christine ? it was the timing that made it special.
"When I found the golden coupon that puts me in the draw for the holiday I thought that's fate, today of all days."
Fate went beyond selecting the day too.
The farm that Christine and her husband Bryan manage gets two copies of the newspaper each day.
"The owner of the farm collected hers and left the other one ? the winning one ? for us."
Four years ago Christine was in near dire straits with kidney failure that meant she was about to go on peritoneal dialysis for the rest of her life.
That would have meant having a tube inserted in her stomach and wearing a bag to collect the impurities in her blood.
That's when little sister came into play.
"Debbie kept insisting that she should go for checks to see if we could get a match and she could give me a kidney, but I kept resisting.
"She was a young mum with two children and I didn't want to put them at risk."
Finally Christine relented and allowed Debbie to at least see if a kidney match was on ? it was, but things were far from done and dusted.
"We had three attempts at Wellington Hospital before the transplant was done.
"The first time I was in one operating theatre, and Debbie was in the other, when I developed a funny feeling in the chest and had a heart turn.
"They had to call it all off and I ended up in coronary care for two or three days.
"The second time Debbie went down with the flu and we had to cancel it again."
They say third time lucky and so it proved ? Christine's transplant was a complete success.
She returned to her job in the office at Breadcraft, from which she has not long retired. Now she helps out her "rock", Bryan, on the farm.
Debbie, who her sister described as a "tiny, brave little thing", is fine too.
Christine's golden coupon will now go into a draw with a total of about 50 to decide who wins a six- day Fijian Holiday, courtesy of the Times-Age, flying Freedom Air and staying at the Mana Island resort.
The draw will be done under police supervision.
Win or lose, Christine considers herself a winner anyway.
"I hope my luck holds, but finding the coupon was a big enough boost anyway."