By Alesha Capone
There was a time when Brooke Evans would become exhausted by walking from her car to the living room.
Despite multiple trips to the doctor, the Wyndham Vale resident was told she had asthma or lacked vitamins.
It was not until Mrs Evans gave birth to her son Xander that she was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, a lung disorder characterised by high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries.
She was given a “cocktail” of medications, but they did not work, and she was placed on the waiting list for a double lung transplant.
In January this year, Mrs Evans, 38, underwent a transplant at The Alfred Hospital. After the operation, she was placed into an induced coma.
Mrs Evans’ mother, Dawn Thomas, said a few days after the operation, on a Monday, it was “a beautiful moment” when she saw her daughter take her first steps since the surgery, alongside Xander, now six.
Mrs Evans said the organ transplant had changed her life.
“It’s definitely given me a new lease on life, even on the Monday I got up and felt I could walk further than I could previously,” she said.
Mrs Evans is now planning to attend the Australian Transplant Games, from September 30-October 6, to compete in darts.
She will travel to the Gold Coast for the game.
Mrs Evans said before she was diagnosed, darts had been the only exercise she was able to do, and she played twice a week with the Melton Darts Club.
See www.australiantransplantgames.com for information
