This month we feature the inspirational and courageous, Jesse Vincent! Jesse's Mum, Chris, got in touch with us to share her son's story.
Over to you Chris!
"Inspirational, courageous, determined! We often hear how honoured we are to meet individuals with these qualities in our lifetime. How lucky am I to have given birth to one such special human?!
My son, Jesse, was an all-round athlete and he loved sport! Athletics – specialties being shot put, discus, javelin, 400m & 800m. Then there was rep cricket, rugby league and the list goes on.
In March, 2016, a day before competing in his final state meet Jess was diagnosed with a rare and lethal cardiomyopathy. A rare genetic condition, (a form of muscular dystrophy & unknown to our family) that he had been living with his then 17 years of life. As a result his heart was 3-4 times larger than normal.
The race was on, but not the type of race or event he was used to competing in. This was a race to save his life. A heart transplant is necessary for Jess to survive past the average life expectancy of 19 years. In April 2016 Jess was placed on the waiting list and as we sit here today, September 2017, he is still awaiting his gift of life.
Sudden cardiac arrest is his enemy. Once past the hurdle of a new heart he faces muscle weakness and the possibility of being wheelchair bound in the coming years. Ironic considering at his final State Titles he achieved a PB and 4th in the State in Shot Put despite not being able to train to the extent of previous years.
Genes have a funny way of expressing themselves – or in his case we are so grateful that he has not been affected like other boys.
The Transplant Games is now his dream (once of course he receives his gift) to compete in and we as a family will do all that we can for him to realise this. Especially with his younger 13 year old brother watching on who faces the same harrowing path.
Our future is HOPE !
So you see his medal display slogans, ‘Dream Believe Achieve’ and especially ‘Always Earned Never Given’ mean so much more than you could ever imagine!
Anyone interested in following Jesse’s story can learn more on Facebook – ‘Find It In Your Heart – Organ Donor Awareness’ page.
#donatelife
#gratitudetodonors
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We're super excited about this as we know that behind every collection of medals is an awesome story!
