- Jennifer Skaggs, 41, had primary ciliary dyskinesia and was listed on the register for a double-lung transplant
- Shortly after, she had the transplant and then met the donor’s family
- She and her donor Jill’s brother Travis fell in love
Here she shares her story in her own words.
‘Breakfast is ready,’ my mum Jean called.
‘Almost done,’ I replied.
I was 12 years old and in my bedroom wearing The Vest – a machine that inflated and vibrated to clear my lungs. I used it for 30 minutes twice daily, along with a nebuliser three times a day, to reduce lung inflammation.
I had primary ciliary dyskinesia, a disease leading to constant respiratory infections.
It was related to situs inversus, a rare condition which meant I’d been born with my organs mirror-reversed – with my heart, stomach and spleen on the right and my gallbladder and liver on the left.
Life revolved around my illness. I couldn’t have sleepovers at friends’ houses as I needed to be near my machines, and couldn’t play sports like my sisters, as I was constantly out of breath.
I was in hospital so often my nurses and doctors were like a second family.
‘You might need a lung transplant one day,’ my doctor warned, but I refused to think about it.
‘I collapsed in shock.’
After high school, I hoped to become a nurse, but it proved impossible as my illness made me miss clinical placements.
I switched to a business course but after graduating, holding a job was difficult as I was sick so often.
Then at 25, I had an idea. ‘Mum, do you want to open a bridal store with me?’
I’d loved helping friends with their weddings and, no matter what the state of the economy, people are always getting married.
Mum was on board, and we opened our shop in February 2009. I loved it and the flexibility meant I could take time off when I was sick.
My sisters Kassie and Stefanie both competed in beauty pageants, and I loved helping them prepare with beautiful gowns we had in stock.
‘You should enter too,’ they urged. ‘You have an amazing story of survival.’
So in 2015, at 31, I entered a pageant, and amazingly I won!
By 2017, I needed oxygen around the clock. Hospitalised for 10 out of 12 months, I underwent multiple lung surgeries after mould was found in them, which I’d picked up from my basement.
‘It’s time to discuss a double-lung transplant,’ my doctor said.
I nodded, scared. It was hugely risky surgery and with situs inversus it was even more precarious.
Then my nephew Griffin, seven, said to me one day, ‘I can’t wait until you’re not sick anymore so you can play with me,’ and I knew it was the right decision.
In June 2019, I was listed on the register for a life-saving transplant.
Three months later, I was at home when the call came. ‘We have lungs for you,’ they said.
I collapsed in shock.
‘Who’s the donor?’ I asked, sobbing.
They wouldn’t name her, but said she was a woman aged 36.
I wept for her family, but I was overwhelmed with gratitude for her life-saving gift.
At the hospital the next day I tearfully hugged my family, praying it wouldn’t be the last time.
When I woke from my op 12 hours later, I was ecstatic to be alive.
‘We fell into each other’s arms.’
The nurse removed the tube from my throat and I took the biggest breath of my life. I was so overjoyed that, waiting outside, Mum and my dad Mark heard my laughter echoing down the hall.
‘We did it!’ I cried, as they came in and we hugged.
‘Thank goodness,’ they wept.
Recovery was tough as I struggled with organ rejection, but in September 2020 I felt strong enough to write to the donor’s family.
Gathering messages from my loved ones I sent them a six-page letter.
You didn’t just save me. You saved my whole family, I told them.
Through social media, they found me and arranged a Skype call. It was incredible to meet my donor’s parents, Randy and Teresa, and the rest of their beautiful family.
I learned that Jill, my donor, had been a mother of four when she sadly died from a brain aneurysm. It broke my heart. We also looked eerily alike and had the same taste in music.
In May 2021, Jill’s family – 12 in all – drove 14 hours to meet me. We fell into each other’s arms.
‘Thank you,’ I sobbed. ‘You changed my life.’
Jill’s brother Travis, then 35, was especially warm. He was kind, funny and caring, and I felt like I’d known him my whole life. He was handsome too.
I was invited to more get-togethers, including Travis’ other sister’s wedding in September 2022. There, Travis asked me to dance – and sparks flew.
I really like this guy, I thought.
‘Travis dropped to one knee and proposed.’
After that, we talked on the phone every day, but I never expected it to turn into anything serious as we lived so far apart.
One day, Travis joked, ‘Do you have anyone to set me up with?’
‘How about me?’ I laughed.
‘That’d be good,’ he said.
‘But I don’t know how long my lungs will last,’ I reminded him.
‘I’d rather have one day with you than none,’ he replied.
By May 2023, we were officially a couple, and two months later, Travis dropped to one knee and proposed.
‘Yes!’ I cried.
He moved interstate to be with me and, in September 2024, we married in front of 100 guests, including my doctors and nurses.
Teresa spoke through tears. ‘My daughter loved people, even in death. And I’m grateful because now Jennifer is my daughter-in-law.’
It was a perfect day. Jill had a seat of honour, and we all felt her presence.
Thanks to her, I had a second chance, not only of life, but love.
I encourage others to talk about organ donation. Beautiful Jill saved five lives by donating her heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. That makes her a hero.
What better way could there be to keep alive the legacy of a loved one?
And I’m so very grateful I not only got my life back – I found my soulmate.
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