My name is Edel Cashman. I’m a 22-year-old student from a dairy and poultry farm in Co Cork. I’m currently in third year, studying animal and crop production in University College Dublin (UCD). Semester two of third year is dedicated to professional work experience (PWE). This consists of at least four weeks placement in each enterprise – beef, pigs, tillage, sheep and dairy.I received a liver transplant in October 2018 as a result of an autoimmune liver disease which I was diagnosed with when I was nine. I managed it with medication, so I was well a lot of the time and most people didn’t know I was sick at all. I preferred it that way, I didn’t want any sympathy, or to be treated differently. I was – and still am – determined to live a “normal” life, the same as everyone else, with no special allowances or treatments.