REAL LIFE
54
BY EL BROIDEHOWW a mother has
used her daughter’s
death to inspire South
Africans to become
organ donors.
‘CONTINUING MY
Daughter’s Legacy’
ELowe family was shatt ered when
enna,20,passedaway in2015aft er
batt lewithpulmonaryarterial
ypertension,arare disease that
causes thearteries andblood vessels inthe
lungsto narrow.
UnfortunatelyforJenna,SouthAfricawasn’t
equippedtohelpherovercomeherillness.
Sheneededa bi-laterallungtransplantand
hadstartedherrenownedandgame-changing
#GetMeTo21campaign.
Thecampaign,whichsawJennainvitethe
countrytoher21stbirthdaypartyonthe
conditi onthat they signupto become anorgan
donor,raiseda lotofawarenessonorgan
donati onsandalthoughJennatragically died
fourmonthsshyofhergoaldate,thecampaign
didseethenumberoflocalssigningupfor
organ donati onincrease by 28percent.
Now GabiLowe, Jenna’s mother, haswrittena
bookdetailingherdaughter’slifeandstruggle,
andfocusingonhowshecreateda massive
socialimpactaround the topic of organ
donati on.
InGetMeTo 21 ,released four years aft erher
daughter’sdeath, Gabiconti nues herdaughter’s
fight. Naturally, theprocess hasn’t been aneasy
oneforGabi.
“I knowI havetotellyourstory,butit is
overwhelming,”Gabibegins.“I amimmobilised
bytheenormityofit andcannotseemtostart.
Helpme, Jen.How can Iever doyou justi ce?
How can Ifindthecourage to relive it?Buthow
can Inot?”
Gabipoursherheartoutinthebookanddetails
theshock,distress, helplessness,devastati on,
inspirati onanddeterminationshefelt during
her daughter’sfinalyears.
“I explaintheslowandagonisingprocessof
diagnosisandhow itfinallydawned. Itwas not
a suddenshockbutrathermorelikea slowand
unthinkabledawningofreality.Evenso,whenit
finallybecame unavoidablyclearwhat we were
dealingwith,it tookmybreathaway,”Gabitells
us.“Mypsychecouldn’tcomprehendit and
thehorror that flooded my bodywas hecti c.
Knowingyourchildhasa life-threateningillness
withlittlehopeandlittleaccess to experti seisa
particularkindofcruel.”
Naturally, thebatt lethat followed was ahorrific
one.
“Findingandobtaining fundingandfighti ng
togetthedrugsthatJennaneededintothe
countrywasa reallytoughpartofthejourney.
Havingtogopublicinordertodothatwasalso
challenging,”Gabisays.
During this process, however, Jenna startedadvocati ngfor organ donati onthrough her
#GetMeTo21campaign,whichraisedpublic
awarenessontheimpactit hasonsomany
otherfamiliesinneed.Hercampaignmade
headlinesaroundthecountryandit wasthis
drive that Jennahad,whilebatt lingher illness,
that inspired Gabito write abookandconti nue
herdaughter’slegacy.
“Jennawantedtoliveandsheintendedto
conti nuebeing amedical activist. Shehadbig
plansandbigdreams. Sheleft animpressiveand
engaginglegacyforonesoyoung,andI suppose
I realisedthatpartofthatlegacynowlieswith
me,” Gabitells us,adding, “Writi ngthebookhas
beenoneofthehardestthingsI haveeverdone.
Itwas anextremelypainful process. Butitwas
alsohealing.I wrotethebookformanyreasons,
mainlyto conti nue, honourandharnessJenna’s
legacyandtoshinea lightonpulmonary
hypertensionandthedireneedformoreorgan
donorsinSA,butalsotoinspirepeopleand
remindthemthatwearestrongerthanwe
think.Jennachosetolive,reallylive,evenin
theface ofthemost hideous pain and suff ering
sheconti nued to
findjoy, purpose
andmeaning
andsheinspired
many.I hope
thatreadersare
educated,uplifted
andremindedof
thedepthofthe
humanspiritthat
livesinsideusall.”
Get Me To 21 is now
available in book
stores aroundthe
country.