Christian Pierard -- Belgium

Age: 47

Transplant: Heart, 1990

Hometown: Brussels

Events: Swimming

Christian's Story: I am married to Yvonne, with whom I have three boys, Christopher 26, Frederic 23, Oliver 19. I am a Belgian air force foreign language instructor. In 1985, I had a tracheitis which degenerated into a heart disease. Why "THE GAMES"? Because transplant works!

A month after my transplant, my youngest son, Oliver aged 12, was asked to write a short text at school. He wrote:

An Unforgettable Evening

It was on a Saturday. The whole family was preparing for the party organized by my basketball club. It was about 19:00 when the doorbell rang. It was the social worker of the hospital, he came in and told my father that they had a heart for him. We left...

Getting to the hospital, we went to the intensive care unit to see him for the last time before his entry into the operating room. The doctor told us not to think about it and to do as it had been forseen. He would contact us later. So, we went to the party and we had a lot of fun: my mother did the dishes, Christopher took some pictures, Frederic danced and I also danced. Around 1 o'clock in the morning, the social worker came to get us because the "bip" did not work.

The transplant was OK but my father still had a pipe in his mouth to help him breathe.. That's the reason for which Frederic fainted. We went to sleep.

Twenty days later, he was home. That evening had been fantastic for my family but especially for my father. I will never forget it.

My Message to the World: I would like to thank the family and relatives of all donors as they have given us the chance to realize how life is beautiful. Once, after my transplant, I was alone with my boy and he said "Great! Now I have a dad like everybody else."

 

Last modified: 11 May 2000