Life to short, Dont Waste it!

 

The compelling story of Marcus Mehta

Read his story then watch his video, a must watch! CLICK HERE

It was 11:00pm on the 23rd of October 2008.

This was the culmination of 6 months of pain, suffering and incomparable fear. I was told that a donor liver would be in the hospital unit by 5:00am and that I needed to prepare myself for transplantation. The news filled me with the most overwhelming mix of feelings I have ever experienced.

I had been diagnosed with cryptogenic hepatitis in May that year and, through no fault of my own, had deteriorated in health and suffered almost every symptom of end stage liver failure. When only 10% of my liver was functional I was put on the transplant list as a final resort in October.

A world-renowned liver physician of the Queen Elizabeth hospital Birmingham, told me simply “well we don’t understand that much about the type of hepatitis you have. It can go one of two ways: either you will improve and make a full recovery, or your liver will die and you’ll need a transplant. I’d say you have about a 50:50 chance”.

My life has changed so dramatically as a result of my liver transplant, particularly my perception of illness itself. Illness is a word that means so many things to different people. Illness for me at that time meant lying in an intensive care bed unable to move, on dialysis, with lines in so many blood vessels, drifting in and out of consciousness and in excruciating pain. I felt as though I had been gutted. In the months leading up to my transplant illness was also the meaning of having approximately 5 seconds of peace after I woke in the morning, before the reality of my uncertain future filled me with dread and fear.

Very few people get to have a second chance at life. Knowing how lucky I am to be alive affects me every day. Much of life is spent as time wasted: people become accustomed to feeling sad or unfulfilled, and struggle from one personal or work problem to another, failing to see positives and letting opportunities pass them by. Having been to the edge of life, to a point where I was told I was going to die, there is no way I am going to let myself waste this second chance.

Kitesurfing is something I started after my transplant. Reading magazines and searching through forums was something that got me through the long recovery process and when I was finally physically well enough the 14 inch abdominal scar meant a waist harness was out of the question! I had lessons and slowly but painfully built up to a level of strength that allowed me to ride- although the back mobe’s were soon swapped for learning to ride upwind instead…

I owe a lot of my recovery and drive to kitesurfing and without it I wouldn’t be at the level of fitness nor have travelled as extensively as kitesurfing has allowed me to post-transplant.

My perspective on life has changed so much, I never waste a minute of life and value every day that I am lucky enough to have. Waking up to a life without fear is something I will never forget. In an unexplainable way I feel as though I am a completely different person, although my situation was bad so many positives have come out as a result.

My decision to study medicine was a direct result of my hepatitis; I want to be one of those doctors that had the same life changing effect on me. I see no other profession in the world that compares to medicine and no one I have a greater respect for. I am currently a 4th year student doctor and looking forward to my elective in Cape Town or Tarifa!

 

Although I have been within weeks of death, experienced life from an angle that no one should at 21 years old and am now on permanent medication, in what must seem incomprehensible to others I simply wouldn’t want life without my liver transplant.”

 

A must watch! CLICK HERE

Organ Donation Register: sign up here: http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/default.asp

Watch the Video Again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbDLZ6jv290