Mok Wern-Bin Noelle, 13

School: Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School

Topic: Your organ transplant journey as a teenager

Award: High Distinction, Junior Category, 2024

Two Hearts, One Heartbeat

The words from the doctor hit my ears and bounced across the walls of the room. “You have congestive heart failure. Your heart is too weak to pump enough blood. I’m afraid you’ll need a heart transplant,” he solemnly uttered. My world came to a pause. The colour drained from Mother’s face and her grip on my shoulder tightened.

“I-is there any way you can slow down the failure? Is it curable?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper with desperation peeking in between her breaths.

“I’m afraid not. There’s only a device which can help, but your heart failure isn't curable. You have to get a transplant, it’s necessary if you want to live longer than a few more years,” the doctor remarked with a grim expression, firm in his words. I found myself staring at him in disbelief, perhaps even holding my breath as the scene blurred in a split second.

Tears overflowed as my sobs crescendoed into a bawl. It took my mother long to calm me down so that I could proceed to collect the device. I was left in the dark for how long it would take to acquire a heart. All I knew was that I was placed at the top of the waitlist for the scarce organ. I wasn’t even aware one could receive this organ in a transplant before this. Other than adapting to the use of a machine to help me live now, I was burdened with what seemed like an endless wait.

As my body surrendered to my malfunctioning heart, my physical condition deteriorated by the day. My will to live was strong and I refused to be held back by the device. Yet, the heavy batteries weighed me down and the icky wire stemming from my torso tangled me between choices of taking showers or saying no to playing with my friends during P.E. I was tormented that I could never go back to how I was again until I got a transplant.

Fortunately, at the climax of my hopelessness, my mother got a call from the doctor. Her eyes were gleaming with exuberance at the end of the call.

“They found a donor,” Mother exclaimed with a megawatt smile metamorphosing from what was once contorted with worry and anxiety.

I would have jumped up and down if was not restricted by the terribly heavy device latched onto me. With hope reignited in me, I endured the rest of the wait for the heart transplant.

I never imagined it would have been so nerve-wracking, laying on the operating table with the glaring lights and terrifyingly sharp medical equipment lying on the tables everywhere. Before I knew it, the sharp dose of anesthesia hit me and a wave of sleep took over what seemed like a short while.

“Ugh…,” I groaned, and blinked a few times awake. In my woozy state, I could barely make out the blurry silhouettes of people crowding over me.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Four?”

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay.”

“Any pain? Difficulty in breathing?”

“No.”

“Okay!” my doctor clasped his hands together after my vision cleared up, “I think you’re all good. The transplant was a huge success. You’ll be back to running around and playing with a new healthy heart in an instant.”

I was over the moon and felt a weight lift off my shoulders… maybe heart. Literally. The heavy device was removed from me, and I slowly recuperated to full physical strength. I was free to play and run and jump like a normal teenager again.

Two weeks later, Mother found the parents of Maria. We met and there were no words to express how much gratitude we felt. We hugged and cried as we were sorry for their loss but also because we were truly appreciative of the altruism of Maria - to share her heart with a stranger like me. Her parents thanked us for reaching out and I couldn’t help tearing up when they listened to my heartbeat as it seemed to be connecting and communicating with Maria. Mother and Maria’s parents became good friends after that.

Years later, I am still eternally grateful to Maria and her parents for their generous and gracious heart donation and will treasure the privilege of getting to live to see my dreams be fulfilled. Maria will always be where my heart beats, and her parents know that a part of their child will forever live on because of her love of humanity.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2024 are those of the participants and are not endorsed by the National Organ Transplant Unit (Ministry of Health).

To learn more about organ donation and organ transplantation in Singapore, please visit www.liveon.gov.sg