Just 10 days after a heart transplant gave him a second chance at life, Durban business analyst Navern Munian caused his fiancé's ticker to skip a beat when he proposed to her as he was being discharged from hospital.
A week after floods ravaged parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Munian, 30, awoke to a life-changing call from his organ transplant co-ordinator telling him that he would be receiving a new heart.
The call came exactly three years to the day after Munian underwent an emergency operation to have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator inserted into his chest to ensure the pace of his heart remained constant.
In 2008 while he was in grade 11, Munian underwent a double-valve replacement after being diagnosed with acute left ventricular failure, a disease that affects the heart muscle.
For more than a decade his life was forced into the slow lane as he suffered congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter, which led to him undergoing constant tests, operations and being placed on the organ donor list.
Then came the fateful call on April 19 and the transplant later the same day, at Busamed Gateway private hospital in Umhlanga.
Munian astounded medical staff by his quick recovery that allowed doctors to discharge him after 10 days.
As hospital nurses, surgeons and doctors gathered in the foyer to wish him well, Munian's new heart was racing.
After days of planning from the confines of his hospital bed, Munian put that heart on the line and proposed to his fiancé, Sherice Roopai, who said yes.
Roopai told the Sunday Times she was overjoyed by the proposal.
“Life for Navern and I changed in 2019. Being at the prime of our lives, we received the devastating news of his poor medical prognosis. We weren’t able to plan for the future due to so much uncertainty.
“His donor blessed us with a gift of life, a second chance at our happily ever after,” she said.
With a newfound purpose and outlook on life Munian has shifted his attention to encouraging people to sign up as organ donors.
“I want to set up a non-profit organisation and convert it to a public benefit organisation so I can assist people who find themselves in need of organ transplants but do not have the means.”
The couple is yet to settle on a wedding date.
“I don’t know who they are yet, but I wouldn’t be here trying to make a difference if it weren’t for my donor. I want to thank the family and offer them my condolences.”
The hospital's transplant co-ordinator, Cindy Goldie, 53, who has 20 years of experience in her field, said the sad reality of her job was that it fluctuated between extreme highs — such in the case of Munian — and devastating lows.
“So many people pray for a miracle when their loved one is ill or injured but I like to consider that person possibly being able to save the life of another by being an organ donor — that’s the real miracle.”
She said there needed to be more awareness and education around organ donation.
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