Chatting to the phenomenal Martha Ehlin from Sweden

When you meet Swedish athlete, Martha Ehlin, her sparkling eyes glisten as she talks to you, she looks just like a typical Scandinavian lass, gorgeous blue eyes and flowing blonde locks but she is by no means ordinary.

Ehlin, who participated in the 2013 World Transplant Games at the beginning of the month in Durban, is a walking miracle. The words courageous, inspiring, phenomenal, zestful and exceptional all come to mind when chatting to her.

In 2008 she was diagnosed with a rare endocrine cancer that was discovered in her pancreas and in no time had spread to her stomach, liver, duodenum and small intestines and in order for her to survive, she needed these five organs transplanted! “I lived a good life, trained a lot. I had never even been to hospital."

"I was put on a waiting list for the transplant, a waiting list that I would describe as a living nightmare. It is just horrible because every day I got worse and worse and all I could do was wait. There were so many thoughts of life and death, demons going through my head!”

“Then one day I got the phone call. It was a pretty weird call, I remember saying are you kidding me? The lady on the other side calmly said no! My first thought was where can I go to pick them up.” the 35 year old states smiling about the life changing phone call. Ehlin is one of the lucky ones having miraculously only waited nine months for the ‘whole package’.

After her mammoth surgery in 2009 that lasted 17 hours, she had a number of complications and was in ICU for four months. “One day I remember lying in the ICU and being asked by my father what my family could do for me, what did I want to do? And I recall the only thing I wanted was to go outside and lie on the grass and feel life around me. This was hard considering my infections and being bedridden. A couple of hours later after pleading with the staff, the nurses and my father carried me outside and when I lay there, I brushed the grass with my hands and looked up to the sun thinking life is beautiful and I truly wanted to live it.”

That was a life changing moment for Ehlin as a few weeks later she recovered enough to be moved out of the ICU. “In my new ward, I learnt about the World Transplant Games that was being hosted in my home town in two years’ time. Hearing about what the games were all about, I thought wow, if I could just be there to watch, applaud. Wouldn’t that be a miracle?”

With new found gusto, she attacked her rehab with a belief that perhaps she could do more than just observe the Games, she wanted to participate. Her dream didn’t end there; she wanted to compete in not one but five events in honour of each of her organs.

In the summer of 2011, in her home town - Gothenburg, Martha Ehlin made history, being one of less than 200 people alive to have had five organ transplants, took part in the World Transplant Games, “At the opening ceremony I held the code of conduct, I was honoured to do that. With a crowd of over 1,500 people we all stood up and for one minute honoured our donors and all those that weren’t as lucky as we were, in that moment of silence, I was humbled reflecting on how my life had changed. I was alive!”

In 2011 Ehlin was awarded five gold medals and in true Games style, she dedicated each of her medals to the reasons she is alive, “That was my way of expressing how much I appreciated my second chance. My first medal was in honour of my donor and their family; still to this day I cannot thank them enough. The second gold was for my family, for always supporting me. The third was for the staff at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The fourth medal I dedicated to everyone out there still waiting for their second chance. And finally, the fifth was for me!” she says dimples evident in her beaming face.”

In Durban, the softly spoken role model notched up three golds, the first for shot put, the second was in the ball throw and the third was in the javelin. She rounded off her efforts with silver in the high jump. “The opening ceremony blew me away, that memory will last me a lifetime. 50 countries standing as one, singing the new song, ‘Our Hearts are Beating’, for the World Transplant Games and being overwhelmed by the wonders of Africa that were performed on stage!”

Claiming that she is extremely competitive, Ehlin relishes the opportunity to compete at the World Transplant Games, “It is about setting goals and going out and achieving them! And I have the opportunity to meet people that have walked the same path and have the same destiny as me.”

Sombrely, she continues, “And of course it is about creating awareness for the necessity of organ donations, the gift of life.”

Back home, the inspiring lady works tirelessly creating awareness, “Before my transplant, I was a PE Teacher. At the 2011 Games, I meet Peter Carstedt from Stockholm; I loved his energy and passion that he exuded. When all the dust had settled after the Gothenburg Games, we set up an organisation that raises awareness for organ donations. It is now a full time job”

The co-founder of MOD or More Organ Donations explains, “MOD in Swedish translated means courage, a very fitting name for our organisation.”

The youthful campaigners have some funky ways that they use for their company’s awareness drive, “We use social media which is proving very successful. We have a few music clips on You-Tube as well, catchy tunes with a message attached!”

The upbeat character changes the topic, “I’m really living a fantastic life. After the transplant, it is kind of like I had a major spring clean in my life. You throw away everything that you don’t need and things that don’t work anymore. It is a good feeling.”

“I feel mortal but in a good way, because it makes me want to live my life to the fullest.”

Asked what she would like to achieve with this new lease in life, she ponders. “The simple things in life, I would like to get married, travel the world, and stop in and explore New Zealand, get a house on the beach and get a dog. I think that is all that is on my bucket-list!”

Ehlin who lives the motto, impossible is nothing, affirms, “With August being Women’s Month in South Africa, ladies, everything that you want to be and achieve, you have already got inside of you. You have the power to change.”

Reflecting, “My ultimate hero in my life is of course my donor but there are many ladies that truly inspire me. I look up to those who follow their heart and walk the path that they believe in! Takes an incredibly powerful woman to be able to do that!”

Finishing her cappuccino, the beautiful soul gets up, stretches her legs and heads off. "Durban has some really great coffee. Gothenburg does as well!" she says warmly.

The words patient, happy, dependable, kind-hearted and above all a fighter describe this profound women. Having spent a week with 1,800 similar humbling stories, I went online and two minutes later, I had registered as an organ donor, I now one day will be able to give the gift of life and be a part of someone’s story like Ehlin, in more ways than one!

If you would like to become an organ donor, go to http://www.odf.org.za/