SLOVENIA MAY have taken the first gold of the European Transplant and Dialysis games at Dublin City University yesterday – but one Irish man was taking some credit for the victory.
As Slovenia’s Marina Avsenik showed off her medal for the 3km race, Belfast native Terry McCreary could not have been more proud, saying, “She’s got my blood.”
Answering a call for bone marrow while living in England in 1992, Mr McCreary became a donor. When doctors found he was a possible match for a Slovenian woman with leukaemia who was in London for treatment, he was asked to help. He then went under general aesthetic to donate more marrow, which was given to Marina the following day.
Marina, a mother of five said, “Two months after getting the bone marrow, it was like a miracle. To be able to walk or climb stairs again was amazing for me.
“I decided I must find this person to say thanks,” said the 54-year-old grandmother. Five years later, the McCrearys visited Slovenia. “When we saw each other, we just cried. We are family now,” said Marina. After she finishes competing this week, both families will tour Antrim together.
Meanwhile, Angela Sherlock (36), from Walkinstown, one of the 71 participating Irish athletes, took gold in the singles bowling.
Ms Sherlock, who has competed in three European and two World Transplant Games, had her first kidney transplant aged 17. Her body rejected the organ after five years and she had dialysis for a further seven before another donor was found. Describing her second transplant in 2003, she said: “To have no pain and to do what you want every day – it’s like winning the Lotto. I know my donors are watching over me. Participating in the games is my way of saying thanks to them.”
Members of the 15-strong French team joked that they were just about recovered from France’s World Cup performance.
Remy Segade (33), who had a kidney transplant at 24 and another at 26, will continue with his three dialysis appointments each week while in Dublin, while representing his country at table tennis.
Team-mate Pascale Demelle, who had a heart transplant six years ago and is competing in the swimming, said: “At the games, I meet people who share my story. By participating, I show respect for my donor. It is extraordinary to have someone else’s heart.”
More than 350 athletes from 24 countries are competing in the games, which run until Saturday.
