Jamie is a hard-working 25 year-old who loves sport and it has to be said is an all round “nice bloke”. In November 2010, Jamie had a lung transplant and RED chatted to him about his experience and also about his plans for the future.
What was the whole experience of having a lung transplant like for you (from pre-transplant to post-transplant)?
I had been seeing the team at Royal Perth a year and a half before I needed a transplant. They were “talking me up” to go on the transplant list but I was borderline in terms of my health. However about three months before my transplant, I was in and out of hospital every couple of weeks and the antibiotics weren’t working. I was put on the transplant list at this time. About a month before my transplant, I was on oxygen all the time and I couldn’t walk around much. I felt really annoyed and wanted it to be over. I couldn’t go out with my friends, they had to come and visit me at home.
I was in “Charlies” (SCGH) when I got the phone call for Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) to come in for the transplant.
I am so glad the operation went well and that I survived it. It took me six months after the transplant for me to be able to go back to work, and I started getting back into basketball after five months. Nine months after my transplant, I could do all the things I wanted to do that I couldn’t do before and it was (and still is) the best I have ever felt. Little things don’t get me so angry now as they did before and not much gets me down. I also take more time to talk to my parents and appreciate them more.
Before the operation I pushed myself to do everything the team at RPH asked me to do, including the exercise (even though some days I didn’t feel like it at all). It seemed like it wasn’t working, but in hindsight it was definitely worth it. I have a gym set up at home and spent a bit of time on the exercise bike.
While I was in hospital, after my transplant, my mum and my step dad took two weeks off from work and visited me every night (and they live in Mandurah!). My friends came and visited me too.
What are you up to now (in terms of work etc)?
I am working full-time now managing a Medi Spa in Mandurah which is next door to West Coast HiFi where I have worked for nine years (since I was 16). The owner of West Coast HiFi also owns the Medi Spa and he wanted me to manage it for a while.
My boss has been good and very understanding. I told him I had CF when I first started working there and have been able to have time off for hospital visits (but I did use my holidays also). There were times though, when I probably pushed myself too hard and went to work when I wasn’t feeling well. I just didn’t want to let anyone down or to be different from anyone else. I don’t want what I have been born with to stop me from doing things.
What are your favourite things to do in your spare time?
I was always a sporty kid and did AFL until I was 14. So now I can play all the sports I want to, which at the moment includes basketball, ten pin bowling and golf. I play golf at different courses around Mandurah with my friends. And my basketball team is also made up of my friends too. I also enjoy going to BBQs on the weekend and socialising.
What would you like to do in the future?
I have a few options in the pipeline with my work, which may involve me moving out of home, but nothing is in concrete yet. I would like to eventually buy my own place. I am also going to Bali in June this year to be a groomsman for a friend. I want to travel to America to see a basketball game and I want to see the AFL Grand Final.
I am taking things a year at a time really to see what opportunities happen.
You have been through a great deal in your life already, do you have any words of advice or wisdom for other young people who have CF?
You are born with CF so you have to deal with it! It is worth it in the long run to do everything right, especially when you are younger, as it may not seem like the physio and exercise is working but in the long run it is.
Article from RED Magazine, Autumn 2012.