Despite the unmistakably English sense of humour and accent, expat Liz Schick could hardly get closer to being a natural-born Swiss woman.

Liz has lived in the Swiss alps since the age of 18, she is married to a Swiss man, has two half-Swiss children, speaks the local language fluently, is a winter-sport nut and runs a ski hire business.

But there is something else that makes Liz even more a part of this country, or rather - that makes it a part of her. Ten years ago she was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and she received a new liver from a Swiss donor.

The experience has completely changed her life, but surprisingly she says, not for the worse.

Of course the fit young mother must have gone though times unimaginable for most of us as she spent nine long months on the organ donor list waiting for The Call. She faced the possibility of death. She seriously wondered what her children’s futures would be like without her.

Up until the time her illness was discovered, Liz had been living a fairy-tale life in the divinely peaceful ski village of Anzere. She was married to the gorgeous man she met as a teenager on a ski holiday, they had a son and a daughter together, lived in a chalet in the alps, ran their own business, and enjoyed the wonderfully wholesome lifestyle that the region offered.

Even Liz says she thought it was too good to be true.

It was on a trip back to England for a holiday that she was suddenly overwhelmed by an intense pain in her abdomen. She was hospitalised and underwent a CT scan, the results of which showed Liz’s liver was completely infested with tumours.

But since her transplant operation this incredible woman has made a great recovery and gone on to lead the most amazing life, achieving remarkable personal goals, and devoting untold time and energy to helping others.

Liz says a cameraman once told her that if she didn’t look like she did she wouldn’t get what she wanted. While this was probably just a mildly flirty/ sexist remark, it could also be taken another way. Because what Liz really wants is to promote awareness of the benefits of transplants. And she is certainly a shining example herself of the wonderful results that are possible. Liz is a picture of health: athletic, attractive and full of life and humour. In fact the only tell-tale signs of her life-saving operation are a 12 inch scar across her abdomen, and the daily dose of anti-rejection drugs she has to take.

The cameraman’s remark also, of course, completely underrates the enormous amount of work and effort that Liz has put into her transplant projects.