A true hero

A number of years ago, a then 13 year old Durban boy, Matthew Legemaate, was placed on oxygen permanently and listed for a heart and bi-lateral lung transplant. Matthew had been born with a congenital heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallots and severe pulmonary atresia and had his first of many open-heart surgeries just 36 hours after being born.

At the time of Matthew being listed for a heart and bi-lateral lung transplant, we had no idea of the situation around organ and tissue donation in South Africa. As we talked about

Organ donation, what it would mean for him and how difficult life may become, Matthew said that we need to find a medium to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation in South Africa.

For a number of years we volunteered for a number of organisations and in December of 2015 a chance Facebook post on a community page changed everything and we started a Facebook page to help raise awareness and tell other people’s stories.

Over time we have told his story in the hope that this would encourage people to register as organ and tissue donors.

At one point Matthew became determined to encourage people to register and we came up with the #Hero777 campaign.

Register as an organ, tissue and blood donor today http://hero777.co.za

Nominate your hero for the Festival in the Hills with the theme, “Heroes & Superheroes, on Friday, August 24, at Curro Hillcrest Christian Academy, 2 Blessing Ninela Road, Hillcrest.

Nominations have been extended until Friday 17. To nominate your hero, send an e-mail to Fever­ editor Kalisha Naicker on
kalisha.naicker@media24.com