‘I felt so blessed’: Heart transplant saves Vanessa Gale’s life

Vanessa Gale was told she only had a few years left to live after years struggling with a heart defect – before a fateful late-night phone call.

Doctors told Vanessa Gale she only had three years to live but just before her time ran out she received a call that changed her life forever.

Only 16 days after being placed on a heart transplant list, Vanessa received a call at 10.45pm telling her told a healthy heart was waiting at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and it was a “perfect match”.

“I was so excited,” the Strathalbyn woman said.

“But I also took a moment to thank my donor and pray for their family and think about what they’re going through at the moment.”

Now for DonateLife Week, just over a year since the transplant, the 42-year-old is advocating for organ donation.

Vanessa Gale was told she had only three years to live before a heart transplant saved her life. Picture: Supplied

Vanessa was born with hypoblastic left heart syndrome and survived most of her life with only half a functioning heart. Picture: Supplied

Born with hypoblastic left heart syndrome – a rare congenital heart defect – Vanessa only had half a functioning heart.

She had open heart surgery as a newborn and again when she was seven.

While half a heart was able to sustain Vanessa for many years, when she was 39 doctors told the schoolteacher she would need a heart transplant or she wouldn’t survive longer than two to three years.

After years of physical and mental health tests Vanessa was placed on the heart transplant in January 2022 and received a heart that same month.

“I felt so blessed … it was perfect timing for me,” she said.

“I haven’t ever been well, I was born with not a good heart so the first time I listened to the heart I was like wow, that is definitely not my heart, it’s beating beautifully.

“I’ve never experienced that in my life.”

Vanessa is currently going through rehab to build strength since the transplant. Picture: Supplied

Vanessa now has new interests and enjoys food she never did before. Picture: Supplied

Since receiving her donated heart Vanessa has discovered new passions and began craving foods she despised prior to her 10 hour surgery.

“I’ve never really liked margherita pizzas until now,” she said.

She felt the same way about grapes – a fruit she has eaten every day since her transplant.

“Vietnamese cold rolls – obsessed, freshly squeeze orange juice – obsessed, Clinkers chocolate I’ve never like them in my life and now I’m loving them, I’m craving them.”

A new passion for flowers, plants and puppies seemed to manifest after Vanessa’s surgery also.

“I feel like my character is the same … but I feel more compassionate … and I am a stronger person now and I feel like that’s the heart and it’s also the experience,” Vanessa said.

“It takes only a minute to register to become an organ donor.”. Picture: Supplied

Although Vanessa does not know her donor due to laws preventing her from finding out, she thinks of them every time her heart beats.

“I’m really advocating for people to become organ donors, it’s just so important … you can save someone’s life, you can actually save eight people’s lives,” she said.

“I’m so grateful for my donor. I have a quality of life now – everything tastes amazing, everything is brighter, everything is beautiful.

“It takes only a minute to register to be an organ donor,” she said.

For more information on being an organ donor click here.