Final heartache for transplant brothers
SIX months ago the tale of Leslie and Nathan Fitz-Gerald would have been one of the most uplifting you could possibly read.
The beautiful story of two brothers born with cystic fibrosis but living their lives to the fullest after an incredible three double lung transplants between them. That’s right – three. Nathan, 30, received the greatest gift a stranger can give four years ago. Twelve months on his older brother was in the operating theatre before returning a year later after his body rejected his new lungs.
“I won the lottery twice,” says 32-year-old Leslie.
“I lost almost 30kg between the transplants. I spent nine months in hospital. I was on oxygen, in wheelchairs.
“I literally had a couple of days left – I was working out where I wanted to be laid to rest – but someone’s decision to donate their loved one’s organs means I’m still here.”
This afternoon Leslie will take to the stage at Robina Community Centre and share his incredible tale at the DonateLife Service of Remembrance, an annual event that recognises organ and tissue donors and the brave families who give so much in their darkest hours.
He will also reveal why this most of beautiful of stories will no longer have a happy ending.
“About four months ago Nathan got a melanoma and unfortunately it’s spreading pretty quickly,” Leslie says.
“They’ve told us he has a 50 per cent chance of six to nine months but it could be a lot shorter.
“It’s just a case of when now and he’s trying to tick things off his list while he’s here. He’s bought a Harley and we’re going skydiving in a couple of weeks.
“We’re just having a ball while he still can.”
Nathan and Leslie grew up in Hervey Bay but have called the Gold Coast home for most of their adult lives. Their social network is wide. Their attitude to life is infectious.
“Nathan turned 30 this week and I just thought I’d go all out,” Leslie explains.
“I thought ‘Stuff it, he’s going to miss out on so much – getting married, having kids’ so the other day we hired one of the biggest superyachts in Australia.
“All the boys chipped in and we had about 70 family and friends spend the day on the water. We had people fly in from overseas and that night a group of us stayed in a couple of penthouses.
“We live life pretty hard and fast, but we know we’re not here as long as other people. We just take every chance to enjoy life while we can.”
Leslie has previously talked about organ donation in these pages, showing off the chiselled body he honed after his second transplant to highlight just how far he had come from death’s door.
“Growing up we always knew it would be a case of when, not if, we’d need a transplant,” Leslie says of living with cystic fibrosis, an incurable condition that affects the lungs and digestive system.
“You know your lungs will eventually clap out because they cop a flogging over the years. Some people can be as young as 15 when they need a new set of airbags.”
For Nathan, that day came when he was 26. For Leslie, 29.
“Being told you’re having a transplant is exciting but also scary because it’s not getting your tonsils out,” Leslie says.
“Getting a double lung transplant means there are a lot of risks and you might well die on the table.
“But there aren’t enough words to describe what it’s like being on the other side. We still have CF but I can breathe now. I don’t have that suffocating feeling all the time.”
As well as being healthy, Leslie is an eternal optimist and nothing highlights that more than his response when asked how he’s holding up as he walks alongside his brother on the toughest road of all.
“I’m all right at this point as we’re used to getting hard news all the time,” he says.
“I’m not a robot. I’ve still got emotions but the reality is people can get hit by a bus tomorrow so being able to prepare and spend as much quality time together as we can is great. Some people don’t get that chance.”