It was a week in April 2010 like any other for Yvonne. Little did she know that weeks of plotting and careful planning had taken place under her very nose to acknowledge the contribution she has made to the transplant community in Western Australia.

	Yvonne and work colleague Karen Moore

Work colleage Karen Moore visited the website of Channel Nine's 'Random Acts of Kindness' (RAK) to nominate Yvonne. She was pleasantly surprised when she was contacted by a program researcher about the possibility of filming a segement about Yvonne....and so the plotting and planning commenced!! Under the guise of helping Yvonne with her garden, Karen and her happy helpers photographed Yvonne's back yard; Pam and Karen asked Yvonne all sorts of weird and wonderful questions at work, to which she was none the wiser, and all this photographic evidence and information was then diligently sent to RAK.
The email tick tacking and calls also included Yvonne's daughter Nicole Cox and the Foundation's Communications Coordinate Kim Ball. Kim was asked to organise 'the sting' to which she responded 'too easy'. After some internet research Kim contacted the Rotary Club of Osborne Park in order to highjack their weekly meeting. Club President Brian Hancock graciously took up the challenge to rearrange the already organised speaker saying 'Yvonne sounds like someone we would like to hear from'. With confirmation of 'the sting' Kim called Yvonne and in a blasé manner explained that the Rotary Club of Osborne Park had somehow heard about Yvonne and were interested in having her speak to members. Of course Yvonne eagerly accepted the opportunity and thus the plan was set in to motion.

Yvonne speaking to Rotary Club of Osborne Park members

On Tuesday 27 April at 7am Yvonne arrived at the Osborne Park Community Centre to share her story with Rotary members and let them know about the Foundation and its latest sponsorship project - about which she is very passionate and excited!
Kim called Yvonne the night before to add another piece to 'the sting' masterpiece. "Hi Yvonne, I got a call from Channel Nine this afternoon. They are thinking about doing a feature about the lung unit for a health watch segment. They didn't say when it was going to happen but I mentioned you were speaking at Rotary and they guy said they had a crew available at that time and asked if it would be ok to come along and shoot some footage of you speaking in preparation for this story. Would you being ok with this?"
"Yeah, that would be fine," Yvonne said. So, she didn't blink an eye when the camera appeared and she was hooked with a microphone before her speech. Yvonne and Kim were introduced and welcomed by Rotary members, enjoyed some delicious breakfast and then Yvonne started her speech.
About half way through, and to the surprise and disbelief of Rotary members, Yvonne was tapped on the shoulder by Random Acts of Kindness Host Scott Cam. The look on her face was one of shock and something along the lines of 'who is this interrupting my speech!'

	Random Acts of Kindness Host Scott Cam 'surprising' Yvonne

Scott introduced himself, explained why he was there and shared about the difference Yvonne has made. Then there were tears!! Scott explained that he was going to whisk Yvonne away for a random act of kindness and then asked whether Yvonne had finished speaking to which she said "Well, actually I was just getting to the good bit about the Foundation's latest sponsorship project." Scott and the filming crew kept filming as Yvonne insisted on sharing with members about a blood transfusion machine that will transform organ donation in WA and around the country. Only Yvonne could get away with that!!
Yvonne was whisked away for a day of filming and then she was booked in to the Sheraton Perth Hotel and instructed to relax and pamper herself. Later she received further instructions to be ready and in the lobby for Scott to take her to dinner. Little did she know as she walked in to the C Resaurant that her whole family was gathered for an extraordinary dinner to celebrate with her.

The surprises continued on Wednesday with a meeting with Sheraton Executives, four hours worth of pampering in the Sheraton Day Spa and a sumptuous dinner with work colleagues and friends at Origins Restaurant.

Yvonne with Garry Brown-Neaves, Tim Davies Landscaping team members and Scott Cam

Yvonne wasn't expecting any more surprises when she arrived home but as Scott said when he walked out of her front door "There is always one more surprise!!" He led Yvonne through her house and in to the back yard where she was overcome with what can only be discribed as a complete transformation! There were more tears as she took in the new space that faced her. Gone was the shed and in its place was a gorgeous deck area completed with dinning suite, umbrella, outdoor furniture and a brand new shed sitting pretty in the back corner of the yard. She looked like a panda as mascara ran down underneath her eyes from all the emotions. To add to the mix an excited group of family, friends and members of the Perth transplant community walked through her garage to join her to celebrate the culmination of a week full of surprises and pampering.

Sincere thanks go to Random Acts of Kindness for the amazing gifts they gave Yvonne and all those involved in making it happen. This includes Karen Moore, Pam Mearns, Rotary Club of Osborne Park members, Sheraton Perth Hotel and Day Spa, C Restaurant, Origins Restaurant, Tim Davies Landscaping, Garry Brown-Neaves and Innovations Catering.

For more photos from Yvonne's week click here.

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