Mount Maunganui man Kerry Hunt is on a mission to honour and raise awareness of organ donation. Photo / George Novak
Mount Maunganui man Kerry Hunt is on a mission to honour and raise awareness of organ donation. Photo / George Novak
With his wide grin, sparkling eyes and vibrant aura, it's hard to imagine that Kerry Hunt was ever deathly ill.
The 56-year-old Mount Maunganui man said he was given the best gift one could ever receive - "the gift of life" - after he received a liver transplant in early2018 following two years on a downward spiral of ill health.
He has been able to see his daughter graduate from university, fall in love and get engaged - things he never would have been able to do otherwise.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my donor," he said.
And now, he is on a mission to spread awareness about the importance of organ donors by placing notes with a tribute to his donor attached to small bells around public places in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.
"They said, 'Jesus, something is wrong here'. Next thing, I was vomiting blood because my liver was bleeding out."
Hunt said he used to be an "above-average social drinker" which led to liver damage.
He was put into an induced coma and spent a month in ICU, including a stint hooked up to a ventilator.
"My kidneys stopped and my lungs collapsed. If my heart stopped I was dead."
The next two years were a waiting game. He underwent tests to check his eligibility for a liver transplant. He was initially declined then accepted three months later.
Hunt said he was terminally ill and believed he would die before he received the call that saved his life.
"Having a liver disease is like having the flu without the snotty nose. You're weak. You can hardly walk. You lose your appetite but you have to eat protein six times a day to replace your lost muscle mass."
One of the tribute notes Kerry Hunt is placing in public places in Mount Maunganui and Tauranga. Photo / George Novak
He got a telephone call that beamed a ray of hope into his life in early 2018.
"The liver transplant unit said, 'We think we've got a liver for you. You've got four hours to get to Auckland.'"
"In less than 12 hours I was lying on a gurney getting hauled down to theatre for a 10-hour operation."
The transplant's impact was immediate.
"You go through the whole trauma of being sick and then within days of getting the organ, all of a sudden you're feeling alive again," he said.
"You're really seeing the leaves on the trees and you're smelling the flowers. It's not a dumb cliche thing, it's a real thing."
The celebration of his new lease on life was bittersweet and tinged with sadness for the donor family who had just lost a loved one, he said.
The transplant came with a responsibility to live his fullest life, and he finds himself more proactive and adventurous after his brush with death.
He urged people to make their wishes clear to their family around organ donations.
An Auckland District Health Board spokesperson said there were 31 people on the waiting list for liver transplants in New Zealand at the time of writing.
Organ Donation New Zealand donor co-ordinator Janice Langlands said the organisation encouraged people to find out more information about organ donation.
"We also encourage families to have a conversation with their families so people are aware of their wishes," she said.
