Video Transcription
Mitchell’s sisters share their story Donate Life
Speaker: My little brother Mitchell was 18 when he died in a car accident. They believe he swerved to miss something on the road, and his passenger side hit the tree. He knocked his head in when that happened.
So the first I knew about it was a knock on the door from the police to say that they’d airlifted him.
He had injuries to his brain that he wasn’t going to survive. They sort of gave us a few minutes to absorb all that information, and then a different doctor came in and said to us that, you know, had we thought about organ donation and would we be willing?
We sort of sat down all as a family and discussed it and said that we would. That sort of started the long ball rolling, so to speak.
Mitchell was our best mate and the best brother anyone could ask for. He loved to try most new things. However, his passion was dirt bike riding and footy. Even though it was only just summer, he was already talking about the footy preseason and how many AFL games he’d get to in the up-and-coming season.
Hence why we’re here at the MCG today—to get the message out there that young kids, you know, you never think it’s going to happen to you. But we’re living proof that it can.
You need to know what your family’s wishes are, as opposed to young kids.
In terms of our message to them, it would be: don’t be scared to discuss it with your parents. Like, if your parents don’t bring it up with you, you bring it up with them.
You need to, you know, speak to your mates. It’s not something you really talk about when you’re hanging out with your friends and your mates and stuff like that, but unfortunately, it can happen.
At the end of the day, it’s the family that has the say, so you need to have that discussion with your family.
It was easier for us because Mitchell wanted to be an ambulance officer. So although it was a very hard decision for a family to make, because you’ve just been told your loved one’s not going to live, it’s also easier if you know what your loved one’s wishes are.
Because ultimately, they can help save, you know, so many more lives.
When we’ve been in our worst grief, it’s helped us to know that because of Mitchell’s ultimate gift, he has been able to help other people.
