ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

Gorgeous George! My miracle baby after 13 years

Gorgeous George! My miracle baby after 13 years

I had my tubes tied… then got a surprise!

I had my tubes tied… then got a surprise!

A baby buried in a forest has been found alive

A baby buried in a forest has been found alive

{headline}

{headline}

Mum’s amazing story: My premmie baby was saved by a sandwich bag

Mum’s amazing story: My premmie baby was saved by a sandwich bag

Miracle baby alive after being dumped in storm drain

Miracle baby alive after being dumped in storm drain

Botox gave me a baby!

Botox gave me a baby!

{headline}

{headline}

Why I gave my babies to a stranger

Why I gave my babies to a stranger

Mum’s joy: strangers gave me their baby

Mum’s joy: strangers gave me their baby

Ovarian cancer survivor tells: My sister was my surrogate

Ovarian cancer survivor tells: My sister was my surrogate

Miracle baby beats the odds to survive

Miracle baby beats the odds to survive

Miracle baby born the size of a coke can

Miracle baby born the size of a coke can

Aussie Dad's mission - I had two months to save my girl's life

Aussie Dad's mission - I had two months to save my girl's life

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

  1. Home
  2. Real Life

Told I’d never be a mum – then a miracle happened!

Amazing. - by Beth Young
  • 27 Sep 2018

Lucinda is the only woman in the world to have a triple transplant then a baby.

Here, Lucinda Simpson, 38, tells the story in her own words.

Dating Damon for a few weeks, it was time to confess.

Born with cystic fibrosis I always knew that one day I’d need a lung transplant. But my condition had got so bad, my liver had also deteriorated and I needed a new one of those, too. Thumping as I confided in Damon, my heart worked perfectly fine but docs said it was easier to replace all three organs in one go.

‘I’m going to have a heart, lung and liver transplant,’ I told him.

My condition had scared off men in the past, so I was nervous, butI needn’t have worried. ‘Even if you had no arms or legs and you were just a head, I’d buy you awesome hats for Christmas,’ Damon said, deadpan. He’s a keeper! I thought, bursting into fits of laughter.

Ten months later, Damon proposed on my 24th birthday. Excited about our future, we asked my pre-transplant team if I’d ever be able to carry a baby.

‘It’s unlikely you’ll survive long enough to have a family,’ we were told. Damon didn’t budge. ‘As long as I’m with you, I don’t care – if we can have kids, that’s a bonus,’ he reassured me.

Then, with our wedding just four months away, Damon and I were tucking into spag bol for dinner when I got the call. I’d be getting my transplant tonight, making me Australia’s first female triple transplant recipient. Better yet, at the same time, I could donate my healthy ticker to someone who needed it.

birth

Angus' birth made history

Adam Head

Although incredible, it felt bittersweet. To give me a chance, someone had lost their life. I was happy I could pass it forward by donating my heart.

In theatre, I looked around fascinated. ‘What does that do?’ I asked, curious, as I spotted various surgical instruments.

In and out of hospitals all my life, I wasn’t squeamish.

‘That’s going to separate your rib cage. And this machine will be your heart and lungs, breathing for you while we operate,’ a surgeon explained. ‘That’s so cool!’ I exclaimed.

Then I had an idea. ‘Can I keep my old organs in a jar?’ I asked.But the surgeon gently suggested I donate them to medical science instead, which sounded like a much better idea!

Thankfully, the 12-hour operation was a success. Marrying Damon four months later, I felt better than ever. And even though I’d been told that I’d never be a mum, I was determined to prove them wrong!

Still, I didn’t want to push my luck, so I didn’t mention it to my doctor until five years after my transplant. Thankfully, he thought that carrying a baby wouldn’t be a risk to my life. But it wasn’t as easy as just trying to get pregnant. The cocktail of meds I took each day had to be carefully assessed to make sure it wouldn’t cause birth defects or miscarriage.

Then, my heart, lung and liver function had to be tested rigorously. It took years of preparation.

Sadly, when we did start trying, nothing happened. We began to consider adoption, surrogacy and fostering. Maybe I will never be a mum, I thought.

By now, Damon and I had been married for 11 years. I tried to stay positive, but what if I’d denied him the chance to be a father?

We’d just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary last October, when a routine blood test revealed I was pregnant!

So surprised, Damon and I both burst into happy tears.

angus

Our boy is always so happy

The day before my 20-week scan, our bub kicked for the first time. Then, the next day, 13 years after my transplant, we found out we were having a baby boy!

Our bub was delivered by emergency caesarean at 28 weeks. We’d been warned that transplant mums very rarely go to term, but this was way earlier than we’d expected. ‘Thank God,’ I breathed, as I heard our miracle baby cry for the first time. He sounded like a cute little lamb!

Weighing just 832 grams, he was whisked to the NICU with his daddy by his side.

I didn’t get to see our son, who we decided to call Angus, for 24 hours. Even then, I could only place my hands on our tiny tot.

hospital

Damon and me, three days after the transplant

kangaroo cuddle

Angus has his first kangaroo cuddle

I finally got to cuddle him when he was 11 days old.

Then, after 87 days, when Angus had reached 2.6 kilos, we got to take our chunky monkey home.

Now five months, Angus is the happiest baby. ‘Hey, you want to do it again?’ I teased Damon. ‘I think we’ve been blessed with one,’ he laughed back.

Angus is a miracle, but his birth also made history.

Incredibly, doctors can find no other cases of a baby born to a woman after a heart, lung and liver transplant.

Without my donor, none of it would be possible. Because of them, I’ve received, given and created the gift of life. It truly is a miracle.

To join the donor register visit donatelife.gov.au

Read more in this week's issue of that's life, on sale now.

  • Real Life
  • Health
  • Parenting
Beth Young
Beth Young
Beth is senior features writer for that's life! and host of the podcast How I Survived.

Subscribe to That's Life Weekly for your chance to win a share in $25,000-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life Weekly for your chance to win a share in $25,000

Subscribe to That's Life Weekly for your chance to win a share in $25,000-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life Weekly for your chance to win a share in $25,000

Recommended to you

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

Gorgeous George! My miracle baby after 13 years

Gorgeous George! My miracle baby after 13 years

I had my tubes tied… then got a surprise!

I had my tubes tied… then got a surprise!

A baby buried in a forest has been found alive

A baby buried in a forest has been found alive

{headline}

{headline}

Mum’s amazing story: My premmie baby was saved by a sandwich bag

Mum’s amazing story: My premmie baby was saved by a sandwich bag

Miracle baby alive after being dumped in storm drain

Miracle baby alive after being dumped in storm drain

Botox gave me a baby!

Botox gave me a baby!

{headline}

{headline}

Why I gave my babies to a stranger

Why I gave my babies to a stranger

Mum’s joy: strangers gave me their baby

Mum’s joy: strangers gave me their baby

Ovarian cancer survivor tells: My sister was my surrogate

Ovarian cancer survivor tells: My sister was my surrogate

Miracle baby beats the odds to survive

Miracle baby beats the odds to survive

Miracle baby born the size of a coke can

Miracle baby born the size of a coke can

Aussie Dad's mission - I had two months to save my girl's life

Aussie Dad's mission - I had two months to save my girl's life

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

ThatsLife
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy
ThatsLife Magazine Subscribe
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • New Idea
  • Who
  • Girlfriend
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • New Idea food
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • All Recipes
  • 7plus
  • 7News
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
  • The West Australian
  • Perth Now
  • Airtasker
  • Society One
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe to That's Life Weekly for your chance to win a share in $25,000-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe to That's Life Weekly for your chance to win a share in $25,000