Kind-hearted donor saves Karen’s life

A young mother is enjoying every minute of her new life that started just months ago when she received a heart transplant.

Karen McDermott, 38, a mother of two from Clonakilty, Co Cork, said she found it strange to hear her heart beating again in August last year.

“After waking up from my transplant operation I could immediately feel the blood circulating around my body,” she said.

“In the days that followed I found it strange to hear my heart beating as I lay on my pillow.

“My heart was barely pumping blood before the operation, I had no energy and was wheelchair bound.”

Ms McDermott, who is helping to highlight this year’s Organ Donor Awareness Week campaign, is almost fully recovered and is hoping to return to her job in Clonakilty Credit Union soon.

Over the Easter weekend, she took part in a local charity run and revelled in every step.

“My transplant has made it possible for me to enjoy doing the most simple things in life that most people take for granted like taking a shower on my own, climbing the stairs and spending time with my children,” she said.

Ms McDermott, who has two children, Shane, 14, and Nicola, 10, became ill in Jan 2012. She was not able to eat and her weight fluctuated.

She spent seven weeks in Cork University Hospital when what was initially thought to be reflux was diagnosed as a combination of dilated cardiomyopathy and mitral valve disease.

“When I was told I had an enlarged heart and was at end-stage heart failure, I thought that I would never live to see my children grow up.

“I had to be convinced that the option of a heart transplant would allow me a second chance at life.”

When Ms McDermott was put on a heart waiting list in June last year, her heart was working at 17% capacity. She received two calls for a transplant from the Mater Hospital in Dublin last August. The first donor heart was not suitable but later the same month, a match was found.

“I will never be able to thank my donor enough for giving me a second chance at life and to be able to watch my children grow up. My donor will always be in my thoughts,” she said.

Ms McDermott, who had always been an active person, said she wanted people to know that organ failure can happen to anyone at any time.

“I have always carried an organ donor card and only recently realised that I had not named my next-of-kin on it, which is hugely important,” she said.

Organ Donor Awareness Week, organised by the Irish Kidney Association, runs until tomorrow.

- www.ika.ie.