A LOCAL father who describes himself as “totally back from the dead” has passionately urged others to consider organ donation after a life-saving transplant transformed his life.
Sean Maguire, an electrician from Donagh, found himself working in an environment with vermin. This led him to becoming unwell and being admitted to hospital.
“I was working mid week in the place and by the weekend I was feeling very unwell and I had to go to hospital. I was in hospital for a couple of weeks,” Sean told the ‘Herald.
“I was moved from Enniskillen to the Royal Victoria Hospital and I eventually recovered enough to get back out again but I was very weak, jaundice, and then a follow up from that, I went to a specialist and it transpired then that I had liver damage, eventually resulting in needing to have a liver transplant.”
Following his diagnosis of liver damage, Sean underwent a transplant, and is now hoping his story will inspire others and raise awareness about the vital role of organ donation in saving lives, something Sean describes as a “gift”.
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“I am very fortunate from the point of view that there are people prepared to be donors and from my experience now encourage anybody who can sign up for it and not to be afraid to donate their organs,” Sean said.
“The gift you can give to somebody else is just unreal. Somebody said to me, they couldn’t believe I had recovered so well from it, from the way I looked before the operation. Absolutely, totally back from the dead, it was my lottery win.
“If I won 10 million on the lotto and didn’t get a transplant, the lotto would still be there and I would be gone,” he said.
Sean would also urge other tradesmen to be careful when working in environment where they might come into contact with rats.
“Due to the nature of the electrical work it inevitably will end up coming in close contact with vermin, usually damaged cables, and if they are diseased or if you pick up anything from their urine you can get very sick from it,” he said.
“Any trades people, farmers, rats are everywhere really, be very cautious picking things up and not washing your hands well after, especially if you are going to eat or have a cut on your hand because that’s where the damage can really be done.”
The NHS estimates there to be around 7,500 people on the UK Transplant Waiting List. Last year over 415 people died while waiting for a transplant. To find out more about organ donation you can visit the NHS website.
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