Transplant athlete off to SA games
If she qualify's Lesley Hurlbatt will be selected to represent South Africa at the 2015 World Transplant Games in Argentina.
LAST year, Somerset Park’s Lesley Hurlbatt lived one of her dreams, representing South Africa at the World Transplant Games in Durban. Now the local athlete is off to Cape Town for the SA transplant games.
Hurlbatt competes in the sport of pétanque (similar to bowls). In November 2004, Lesley was told by doctors she needed a heart transplant because of a genetic defect.
If she qualify’s Hurlbatt will be selected to represent South Africa at the 2015 World Games in Argentina.
“Preparations have gone well and I’m fairly confident leading up to the nationals. I would love to get into the SA squad. It’s also an opportunity for me to help promote organ and tissue donation by demonstrating that recipients can have full, active lives.
“The camarderie and spirit allows transplantees to connect with old friends, meet new recipients and donor families, and enjoy a special community of people who understand the life that we all live,” she said.
Hurlbatt explains how getting a new transplant helped her find a new outlook on life.
“My body wasn’t doing well and my health started to decline. I felt I wasn’t living my life,” she said. “Getting my new heart meant a new beginning and and a new chapter in my life. I’m living a second life, and it’s all because of my organ donor’s family,” she said.
