Jersey Day honours everyday heroes giving gift of life to others

They say winning the lottery is a one in a million chance. For Mrs Ford’s husband Mark, his was a lottery you didn’t want to win – a rare disease unluckily affecting his kidneys. To stay alive he needed a hero. That hero was his wife.

Thirteen years ago she gave one of her kidneys to her husband and with that his second chance at life.

But it wasn’t an easy thing for her to do. It took Mrs Ford six months to come to her decision.

“I didn’t want to give him a kidney because I was scared,” she said.

Once she made up her mind, she knew it was the right decision. Mrs Ford described the moment as being “surreal” and that a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“It was absolutely worth it,” she said.

The decision to proceed was exciting, as it allowed her and her husband to live a normal life again.

Mrs Ford is what is called a live donor, where she is able to donate a part of her body, such as a kidney, which can save other people’s lives but not harm hers.

Unlike Mrs Ford, Jayden Cummins, a filmmaker, was the recipient of a donor organ.

When he was 46, he came down with a bad case of influenza A. He was sent to hospital and there the doctors gave him the grim news: he had end-stage heart failure. Worse, his 13-year-old son was told his father was fighting to stay alive and had two days to live.

Doctors put him in an induced coma for three weeks. When he woke, he was kept alive by a mechanical heart.

Eventually, after a long wait – 436 days – he was given another opportunity at life. A heart from a 34-year-old car crash victim became available.

An opportunity to extend his life was presented to him. It meant everything to Mr Cummins. Now, aged 52 and a passionate campaigner for donor organs, he says he has been able to watch his son grow up into a young adult.

“I have been able to watch him complete the HSC, play guitar – all these wonderful things that I would never be able to see had I not had this beautiful gift of life.”

In May 2015, 13-year-old Nathan Gremmo, a student at Oakhill College, lost his life after an accident crossing Glenhaven Road.

Jersey Day was created by his family after his death as a way of understanding the impact of organ donation. When Nathan died, his organs saved the lives of six other people.

Before his passing, Nathan was quoted as saying: “You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.”

The wearing of jerseys symbolises being in a team – a team that is working together to raise awareness of organ and tissue transplants.

During his time as leader of the Church, Pope John Paul spoke about organ donation. He wrote in the encyclical Evangelium Vitae in 1995 that the donation of organs, performed in an ethically acceptable manner, was “the sincere gift of self”.

Mr Cummins agreed with this sentiment.

“The beautiful thing about organ donations – it’s the one thing that transcends things like race and gender and religion and economic status. It is the one thing that proves that underneath (our skin) we are all the same people.”

Mr Cummins cherishes his heart and is eternally grateful.

“For me, I don’t own this heart. I feel I am the guardian of this heart and I like being able to thank my donor because I think about him every single day. Every single day I thank him for this chance.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Ford happily continues with her kayaking and playing sport “and you would never know I have one kidney”.

On September 1, all children and staff at St Agatha’s wore jerseys in honour of Nathan Gremmo and the cause he supported.