Age: 38
Transplant: Liver 1989
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Events: Swimming: 400M Free, 200M Free, 100M Free, 200M IM, 100M Breast
Warwick's Story: I was in the intensive care unit, still hooked up to all the machinery after my 12-hour transplant operation, when a man came up to my bed and said, "Here's another candidate for the World Transplant Games." That man turned out to be transplant surgeon and Australian Team doctor, Dr. Daryl Wall. From that moment on I had the driving ambition to represent my country at the Games. Sydney will be the fourth time I have had that honour. My proudest moment in my swimming career was receiving the gold medal for the 400M Free at Manchester in 1995.
But, transplants
aren't only about sport and medals. They are about saving lives, and in
my case, something even more important. When I had my liver transplant,
my wife and I had three young sons. I was going to die in 1989, but my
boys have now had a father for eight years which they would not have had
(and hopefully there are many more!). As well, amazingly, we were lucky
enough to have a baby girl almost on the day of the second anniversary
of my transplant.
Of course none of this would have happened if a family I have never met had not said, at such an horrendous moment in their lives, that the doctors could take an organ from their brain-dead daughter and give it to me. Words cannot describe what I feel about that act of supreme generosity.
My message to the world: I've tried to repay them [my donor family], and also my own wife and family for their support. Since my transplant,I have worked on committees to help other recipients and to increase the organ donor rate (which is pitifully low in Australia). I've publicised the cause in many different ways. I even wanted to swim the English Channel, but after 18 months of training had to abort the attempt when I couldn't get enough sponsorship. But I doubt if anything could repay them enough. All I can say is,"Thank you."
