It’s been 12 months since Figtree teenager Capreece Wax lost her life – and through organ donation saved the lives of three others.
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On Saturday Family and friends will remember the sweet, bubbly 14-year-old – and her ultimate gift of life –at a memorial at her resting place at Scarborough/ Wombarra memorial gardens.
And while the lead-up to the first anniversary of their eldest child’s sudden death is heartbreaking for her parents Jacqueline and Aaron, they’re urging others to register as organ donors this DonateLife Week.
“Our daughter passed away of ANE or Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy, which is a rare brain disease that was triggered by the flu,” Mrs Wax said.
“We only had about five days from the night she came down with the flu.
“She was admitted to Wollongong Hospital and then choppered to Randwick children’s hospital where, by the Wednesday night, she had stopped speaking and she never recovered or woke up.
“We were told she wouldn’t make it, the inflammation on her brain was so severe, and she was announced brain dead on Saturday, August 19.
“She donated four of her organs – her lungs, both her kidneys and pancreas – with surgery the following day which saved three lives.”
The Wax’s didn’t need to wait to be asked – they knew their daughter’s wishes around organ donation.
“I’m registered to be an organ donor and I had the discussion with my daughter that if anything happened to me, I wanted my organs donated,” Mrs Wax said.
“She told me that’s what she wanted too, so my husband and I were able to make the decision straight away.
“On the day we said goodbye to our first-born child, we thought of those families whose loved ones would be saved. It gave us some kind of comfort.”
The couple – who have two younger children Clinton, 13 and Charli, 10 – also wanted to raise awareness of ANE.
“Genetic tests showed Capreece was negative to the RanBP2 gene which caused ANE in 50 per cent of cases, so we don’t know how she got it,” Mrs Wax said.
“Capreece had actually had an identical episode when she was six, though we didn’t know it was ANE, and she made a full recovery in ICU. We’re told that a third of patients survive, a third die and a third have brain damage.”
The family hope Capreece’s family and friends will join them at the memorial gardens from 3pm.
“She was a healthy, happy sociable girl who was so full of life,” Mrs Wax said. “We can only take comfort in keeping our child’s legacy alive and sharing our precious memories and the very short but meaningful special life she gave us and everyone else she touched.”
Only a third of Australians have joined the Australian Organ Donor Register. To join visit donatelife.gov.au and let your family know your wishes.
