YOUR HERO IS OUT THERE
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR TOT WHO NEEDS NEW HEART
Brave Max’s parents in boost for Oscar
THE parents of Mirror transplant boy Max Johnson sent a message of hope to Oscar Dunkley’s family as he waits for a new heart.
Emma and Paul are praying the 13-month-old will find his “hero” donor – just like Max, 10, found his.
They spoke after our front page yesterday told how Oscar’s parents Abbie Burkmar, 23, and Josh Dunkley, 25, are living “day by day” as the tot’s time runs out.
Max’s dad Paul, 45, said: “We feel so much for the situation little Oscar and his family are in. It is purgatory. We found our hero in Joe Ball; we pray that Oscar finds his hero too.”
And sending a message to all potential donors, Paul, a civil servant from Winsford, Cheshire, went on: “Please, have the conversation now and let your family know your wishes and know their wishes as well.
“Believe me, there is nothing more powerful or more comforting than knowing that out of a terrible loss can come something as remarkable as saving lives. What a legacy that would be. Oscar and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.”
He added: “Hang in there, little man. Your hero is out there.”
Oscar was born with enlarged heart condition cardiomyopathy, just like Max. He is clinging to life on the drug milrinone, which relaxes the muscles in blood vessels to help them widen.
This lowers blood pressure and allows it to flow more easily, reducing pressure on his struggling heart. But he narrowly avoided death last month as the drugs nearly failed. His dose was increased but his family know this cannot go on for ever.
Max’s life was saved when train fitter Joe Ball donated the organs of nine-year-old daughter Keira after she died in a car accident near their home in Barnstaple, Devon, in July 2017.
Max led the Mirror’s Change the Law for Life campaign. Everyone in England will be presumed to be a donor when a new law is introduced
next year. The Bill will get its second reading in the House of Lords tomorrow.
Max’s mum Emma,
48, told of the agonising late-night calls during the 206 days Max was on the urgent heart transplant waiting list at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
They would wake “never knowing if it was the good news of a donor being found, or another setback”. So they know what Oscar’s family is facing.
Emma said: “I remember rushing to the ward and being ushered in by a waiting nurse.
“I could see doctors and staff leaning over Max and thinking ‘what is going on?’
“When the phone goes, they will be thinking, ‘What are we going to be faced with?’” For every family in this situation, there is also the expense of giving up work to be by their side.
Emma, a market researcher, added: “If it had not been for the Sick Children’s Trust helping us with accommodation over seven months, we would have had to sell our house.”
The charity set up in honour of Keira, called Inspired by Keira, has helped Oscar’s family as dad Josh, a machine operator, juggles life at home in Bournemouth, Dorset, with Oscar’s four-year-old brother Jack and visits to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Keira’s parents Joe and Loanna went to see Oscar during their visit to London for the Mirror’s Pride of Britain awards last month.
Loanna, 34, said: “We wanted to do what we could to help. We gave them a cheque for £700 from the charity and we met Oscar. We are in regular contact now to see how he is.”
MPs last month gave the final green light to making organs available for transplant unless people opt out under the new system. The legislation will be called Max’s Law after Theresa May named it in Max’s honour.
Children needing an urgent heart transplant currently have to wait twoand-a-half times longer than adults, as bereaved parents are less likely to agree to donating a child’s organs.
Scotland is considering an opt-out scheme similar to the one coming into force in England. Wales introduced the opt-out system in 2015.
“People aren’t thinking about organ donation until it is too late,” added Abbie, who has given up her job and studies to be by Oscar’s side.
“When someone dies you can save up to nine lives. A lot of organs are being wasted and it means we are wasting lives. A lot of people agree with donation but they aren’t taking the time to sign up. I think this change will make a difference.”
And as Oscar waits, she added: “I just want him to have his turn.”
For info, see organdonation.nhs.uk. Support Keira’s charity at facebook. com/inspiredbykeira
A lot of people
agree with donation but aren’t taking the time to sign up OSCAR’S MUM ABBIE ON NEED FOR CHANGE ON DONOR LAWS