BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 926 FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015
’ ROBYN S GIFT Organ donation offers hope to others
By PETER KENNEDY
LAST year, the organs of 378 donors provided hope, opportunity and the chance at a better life for 1117 seriously ill Australians. Last month, Bendigo woman Robyn Miles became an organ and tissue donor. An aneurysm followed by two devastating strokes had left the 62-year-old gravely ill, and with next to no chance of a reasonable recovery. Robyn and husband Trevor had often talked about mortality and quality of life, and so when
They treat it seriously, and they treat it well, and very respectfully
RESPECTFUL: Robyn Miles was a psychologist and mother of three.
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Art world in nude row – Page 5
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the tight-knit Bendigo family was faced with one of the most difficult and gut wrenching decisions any family could face, Trevor says they knew what Robyn would have wanted. “It was highly likely Robyn was going to die regardless of what we did,” he said. “It was clear that things were crook, and the operations we had were to try and work out what sort of recovery she could make, but at least 24 hours before she died it was clear. “Then it was a very easy decision to make her comfortable and to participate actively and support the organ donation process.”
Robyn believed that the body is but a vessel for one’s soul, and Trevor says his wife, who he describes as a spiritual but not religious person, had helped him understand her view of life. And it was because of those earlier and important conversations that Trevor and his family were able to make a very difficult decision with the knowledge that in doing so, they were doing what Robyn would have wanted. “Out of that we had a view that once you are dead, once your spirit is gone, really your body can be used by anybody,” he said. Once neurologists at the Royal Melbourne hospital informed the family that Robyn was not going to make a reasonable recovery – and that at best she faced a very slim chance of perhaps being wheelchair bound, not able to read, speak or relate to others – the decision was not so difficult as it could have otherwise have been. “I thought that would be a living hell for Robyn,” Trevor said. Full of praise for the DonateLife team who assisted himself along with daughter Liz and sons David and Jake, Trevor says the organisation was incredibly professional and organised as well as very supportive and clear. “It’s not an easy process, and it’s not confronting, but I use the word salutary,” he said. “The organ donation people were fantastic in terms of attending to us, and in terms of making it clear that I as next of kin would have the final say and at any stage I could pull the pin.” “It’s a very serious process, they treat it seriously, and they treat it well, and very respectfully.”
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