Eryn Mathewson tells us about competing for Team USA at the World Transplant Games in Perth this week. Eryn required a transplant and was given just seven days to live after suddenly developing liver failure. She has named her new organ “Salvador”, which is Spanish for saviour as her donor was of Dominican descent. Eryn discusses winning a silver medal in the 4x100 meters relay, her 80 year old teammate winning the 5K race, adapting to her new organ and her hopes of meeting her donor’s family one day.
Malawi netball international Towera Vinkhumbo discusses the situation in her home country a month on from Cyclone Freddy wreaking havoc in the southern hemisphere. Vinkhumbo – who plays her club netball in Scotland – initially struggled to contact her family in Malawi. She tells us about the first phone call she had with her five year old daughter, who lives in Malawi and about how she’s using her position to raise awareness of what people need in the country following the storm.
And Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt reflects on an extraordinary life devoted to religious service and basketball. The 103 year old tells us how she fell in love with the sport as a young girl and how she has been the chaplain for the men’s basketball team at Loyola University, Chicago since the 1990s. She went viral during March Madness in 2018 and tells us that led to her becoming an international celebrity.
Photo: Eryn Mathewson bites her World Transplant Games silver medal (Credit: Eryn Mathewson/Twitter)