Putting her heart in it

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT BEACH -- A silver medal from the 13th World Transplant Games

in Kobe, Japan, this summer rounded out Inger Jessen’s trophy case.

The Huntington Beach resident now boasts two gold, a silver and a

bronze medal, all in the breaststroke.

Jessen trains at the YMCA in Newport Beach three mornings a week and

at the pool at Corona del Mar three evenings a week.

She nearly took a third gold medal, missing it by a mere one-tenth of

a second, Jessen said.

“We got in pretty much at the same time, but in the breaststroke you

have to have your hand flat,” she explained.

She may not be an Olympic-class swimmer, but the criteria for entering

the World Transplant Games are much tougher -- you must have received an

organ transplant.

Four years ago, Jessen was feeling more than her 55 years. She

couldn’t walk 100 yards -- let alone swim it. But she was afforded

another opportunity in life when she traded in her failing heart for one

from a 19-year-old who died in a car accident.

It was a gift she didn’t know how to repay.

But two years ago, in appreciation of that gift and her renewed

health, Jessen competed in the World Transplant Games in Budapest,

Hungary.

“It’s showing the world what you can do and a thank you to the family

[by] just getting in there,” she said.

The World Transplant Games, sponsored by the National Kidney

Foundation, are not just a celebration of life but also a call for help,

Jessen said.

“It’s about getting behind donor awareness,” she said.

There are 77,330 people in the United States waiting for a transplant

of some kind, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. More

than 4,000 of those patients are waiting for a heart, and more than

49,000 need a kidney transplant.

In Japan, there are 200,000 kidney patients on a waiting list for

dialysis treatment -- not even on the list for transplants yet, Jessen

said.

“They needed awareness,” she added.

This year, 880 athletes competed in myriad games, from golf, tennis

and volleyball to cycling and bowling.

There were participants from 48 countries who competed to raise

awareness about what being an organ donor can mean.

Jessen has survived the same coronary artery disease that took her son

at the age of 30 and her father before that.

She suffered her first heart attack 20 years ago and yet now, at 59,

lives her life with a renewed energy.

Before she left for Japan, Jessen said this would be her last

competition.

“I have to go next year in Orlando [to the national games] and in

another two years to Nancy, France,” she said.