Colette’s Story:

It’s Organ Donor Awareness Week 2023 (20 – 27 May), and we caught up with Mater donor recipient Colette whose transplant journey began three and a half years ago.

“On the 5th of September 2019, I suffered a massive heart attack that resulted in me being airlifted to Galway University Hospital, where I went into cardiac arrest. From there, I was transported to the Mater Public Hospital’s ICU unit, where they worked to save my life using the ECMO ( Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine, an Impella heart pump and dialysis – as my kidneys also started to shut down.

Sixteen days later I woke up in ICU, surrounded by machines and was then transferred to the CCU under the care of Professor Emer Joyce. Initially an ICD (Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) was implanted, but to no avail, my heart was too weak. Three weeks later I was informed by Professor Joyce that I was in need of a heart transplant. I contracted septicaemia twice. There was talk of palliative care, but my doctors did not want to give up on me, and chose to prepare me and sign me up for the heart transplant list.

While waiting for a new heart, I was put on balloon pumps, an axillary pump and an LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) machine. During this, there were lots of ups and downs; I was stuck in bed for three months, I struggled to eat for a couple of those months and numerous infections came to me all at once.

Colette in recovery after her transplant

I got my first potential transplant call in early December, 2019. My second call up was in the third week of December, but it wasn’t suitable either. Then, on the 9th January, 2020, my team came to me and informed me that there was another heart that would suit me, but that it was a cross match – which made it a lot more complicated than a regular transplant. I was prepped for surgery and brought down to theatre and transplant went ahead on the 10th of January, 2020, at 6:40AM. Once the transplant was completed, I woke up in HDU 6 days later, and recovery started.

I can’t believe it, but that was three and a half years ago. Everything is great; my new heart is working just fine, and the recovery has been very successful. I am back living my everyday life doing the things I enjoyed before. I could never be more grateful and thankful to all the doctors and nurses at the Mater, especially Professor Emer Joyce and her team, all the doctors that helped me and all the CCU, HDU, and ICU nurses, who were amazing. I am also incredibly grateful to my donor and their family. I think about them and hope they are doing okay – they will always be in my heart.”

#LeaveNoDoubt #ShareYourWishes #DonorWeek23

Colette, Longford