John Belcher is more than 15 years on from a life saving heart transplant, and he’s never been more motivated to share his story and raise awareness and understanding within the community.
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After suffering a huge heart attack while fishing with his daughter, John’s heart deteriorated significantly, and he was given only 2-4 weeks to live without a transplant.
The severity of his condition meant that without the transplant, John’s health would continue to deteriorate very quickly. All he could do was wait, and hope for a miracle.
“When I was in hospital my heart was pumping at about 15 per cent capacity, so I didn’t have much time,” John said.
Throughout the process, and to this day, John’s primary concern was the welfare of his family.
“My wife and I were business partners. She had to keep the business going while I was away in hospital, it was definitely hard on her,” he said.
Luckily for John, a donor was secured, late in the evening on June 13, 2002.
“When they told me the news it was late at night, I was just about to go to sleep,” he said.
“It didn’t really sink in, they took me straight into surgery that night, it was sudden.”
John became the 1000th transplant recipient at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital that night.
In the years since the transplant, John has dedicated a lot of his time to promoting understanding and awareness through public speaking.
Working with the ACT Organ Donor Task Force, John speaks regularly at Probus clubs, Rotary clubs, and also presents to health professionals.
“I’ve done several talks with groups of nurses who are actually present for the organ retrieval process, which can be quite a traumatic experience,” he said.
“The donors are brain dead at that stage, but they have the job of turning off the life support and waiting.”
John has had to modify his lifestyle since the transplant, but it has been a change he was more than happy to make for the rewards.
“Having the transplant has allowed me to see grandchildren, and great grandchildren that I wouldn’t have been alive for. Without it I would have been dead at 55.”