By Luke Voogt
Highton’s Jonathon Walker is forever grateful to the bone marrow donor who gave him the chance to have a family 19 years ago.
Jon, 43, had three children post-transplant – the eldest is 11.
“If I didn’t have my transplant, I would be dead and wouldn’t have three wonderful children,” he said.
He will take two of them to western Sydney next month, as he competes in the Australian Transplant Games.
“The reason we’re all there is getting people on the organ donation register – it saves lives,” he said.
“I don’t go to every one, just when it fits in with the family schedule.”
A “sporting nut”, Jon enjoys the camaraderie of the games and the chance to get back onto the field.
“It’s the only time I’ve been competitive in the 20 years since I got sick,” he said.
“It’s not about winning and losing, it’s about getting out there showing people you can still have a go and compete.”
Jon received a lifesaving bone marrow allograft and stem cell transplant in 1997, after being diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare type of leukaemia.
He will join fellow Geelong competitors and friends Frankie Simovic and Ray Gogoll.
Lovely Banks resident Frankie, 51, has received a number of lifesaving kidney transplants since 1983 after being diagnosed with Alport syndrome – his latest in 2012.
He has competed in almost every games since they began in 1988, he said, and has a few medals to show for it.
“I’ve been around for quite a while, I’m an old hand,” he said.
But the camaraderie is what draws Frankie, not the medals.
“I’ve made heaps of friends from all around Australia,” he said.
“I get to see everyone and how they are doing well with their transplant.”
Thanks to the transplants, Frankie has been able to travel across Europe and Australia.
“I thank them for giving me my quality of life back,” he said. “I don’t have to book dialysis now.”
Highton butcher Ray Gogoll will compete in his third games.
“It’s about catching up with a few mates from the other states and having a bit of fun,” he said.
Ray, 61, had a double lung transplant in 2010 after being diagnosed with sarcoidosis, which left him struggling to breathe for more than a decade.
“If not for the transplant, I would have no quality of life – I would be sitting on a chair sucking oxygen,” he said.
“I’m so grateful just being able to spend a bit more time with the grandkids – every day is bonus.”
The Australian Transplant Games take place in Western Sydney from 24 September to 1 October.
Transplant Australia CEO Chris Thomas said the athletes were “living proof that transplants save lives.”
“They can start a family, play sport, get back into the workforce – all because of the generosity of someone else.”
Highton butcher shop What’s for Dinner will hold a barbecue at 8am, Saturday, to raise funds for competitors to attend the transplant games.
