NEW JERSEY (PIX11) -- Karl Halpin’s Christmas present isn’t under the tree this year.
His gift is the fact that he’s decorating it with his wife, ten Christmases ago he was seriously ill and facing death. He was in desperate need of a liver transplant.
He remembers quite well, “If I didn’t get the transplant, my chances of survival were zero.”
At his home in Belleville, N.J. Halpin is celebrating his decade of survival with his wife and three children. He has not forgotten the five agonizing years he had to wait to find an organ donor. “The more ill you become the phone starts ringing. Getting that first call, sorry Mr. Halpin go home and getting that second call, sorry Mr . Halpin, not a match.” The tenth call was a match.
Karl’s donor was an 18-year-old high school senior, Jeffrey Smith, who was killed in an auto accident.
Halpin pauses and reflects, “The fact that they took a young dead man’s liver and put it into me and kept me alive boggles my mind.”
Halpin credits the New Jersey Sharing Network with securing his donor's liver, but he said it took more for him to survive, “Without the care of my wife and family, I wouldn’t be here,” he declares.
Following his transplant, Halpin defied all odds, returning to work as a union ironworker and resuming his passion for playing hockey.
He maintains it hasn’t been easy, “staying alive and healthy has become more of a chore now.”
Having walked in the shadow of death a decade ago, Halpin is grateful to his donor for keeping him alive,
“I recognize my children have a father today, my wife still has a husband, if I passed away at this moment, I was given 10 years.”
His daughter Stella expresses the sentiment of the entire family.
“Having my father around, especially around the holidays is truly a gift for me and my family. We’re blessed to have him here.”
As for her father, he said that going through his life-changing ordeal has taught him an important lesson, “I’ve learned to recognize the beauty in front of me that I didn’t see before.”
By sharing his transplant story, Karl encourages others to register as organ donors. His story also gives hope and support to those still waiting on the transplant organ list.
You can get more information about organ transplants at NJSharingNetwork.org
For more information about organ donations click here.
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