2021 should have been a stellar year for New Year’s Honours recipient Naomi Cowan. The then 61-year-old’s mental health NGO that she leads continued to flourish, her daughter was getting married and she was enjoying her role as a new grandmother.
As someone who had always been in good health, Naomi hadn’t been too concerned about a persistent cough that her GP had initially diagnosed as asthma.
But over summer 2020/21, things came to a head when she was struggling to walk or cycle like normal.
Naomi was referred to a specialist who diagnosed her with a rare and incurable lung condition called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
“I was told it’s time to ring your family and bring them in for a conversation. That was hard,” she says.
Lung transplant the only option
At the appointment the specialist revealed that a lung transplant was Naomi’s only hope. He also warned her that there was high demand for lungs and that the criteria to get on the waitlist was hard to meet.
“When I got the diagnosis from the specialist I remember feeling very, very sad,” says Naomi. “Two years before we’d lost a grandchild at full term. We’d just had the second and I remember thinking I wouldn’t get to see her grow up. That was the hardest thing.”
At the time, Naomi was 61 years old.
“It was traumatising to hear I needed a transplant, but I decided just to follow the medical advice. I felt like I still had so much more to give – I didn’t feel done,” she explains.
Surgery goes ahead
Six months after the initial diagnosis in March, Naomi went on the transplant waiting list. By that stage she was so unwell that she had to sit in the shower and needed help if she wanted to go for a walk.
Just a month after going on the list, Naomi received a call to say the transplant team had found a match.
“I remember it was 9.30 at night and I’d already gone to bed. I got a call asking if I could be at the hospital in half an hour,” she says.
“I just remember I had this incredible peace. I was thinking, well if this doesn’t work, I’m dying anyway.”
The transplant went smoothly and Naomi progressed rapidly in recovery. She was back home in early 2022, and returned to work full-time just four months after surgery.
“I’m back to full time work now so I feel like I’m back making a difference,” says Naomi. “And the granddaughter has just had her fourth birthday. I was able to go and look after her when her Mum was away overseas for a week. I just wouldn’t have been able to do that without the new lung.”
Gratitude for the donor family
There isn’t a day that goes by, that Naomi isn’t thankful for the incredible generosity she received.
“Every day I wake up and I have enormous gratitude for the family who in the worst of circumstances were willing to donate that lung. It’s just incredible.”
She also makes sure she stays in excellent health to honour her donor.
“It’s just so important to maintain this precious gift I’ve been given,” she says.
Always keen on helping others, Naomi also believes she’s more compassionate since the transplant.
“I have a greater compassion for people and I now live a lot more in the moment. I’m trying to see the good in others and trying to help them.
“Your priorities change. I love my job but I love my family and friends and my community even more.”
