No Meek feat: Shepparton Park’s Chris Meek finds gold (twice) in second shot at life after live-saving liver transplant

Although it wasn’t quite the gunslinging, cowboy hootin’ and hollerin’ old wild west, Meek fondly reflects on his time in the northern end of Australia.

However, the then 64-year-old’s hootenanny was suddenly brought to a close after he tripped in the dark on his young Kelpie — ironically called Socks because she was always around his feet — and hit his chest on the corner of his television.

Left lying in his motorhome, slowly bleeding out; a concerned neighbour eventually came to the rescue after not seeing Meek for a couple of days.

The water prosecutor’s trip to the hospital then unveiled a darker underlying issue — a serious problem with his liver.

Seeing as Meek lived 1300km away from the nearest transplant-offering hospital in Brisbane, he decided to move to stay with family in Shepparton.

It was only a two-hour drive from his new home to the Austin Hospital in Melbourne where they offered liver transplant surgery.

The discovery of the liver disease was only the start of his rapid health decline, as a transplant was no certainty to happen.

Three “false starts”, as Meek refers to them, occurred during his wait for a transplant, as three times he was called to the hospital for a potential operation.

However, he was given the news each time that his body wouldn’t accept the donated liver.

As his hope for a last-minute saviour dwindled, Meek said he felt a surprising level of calmness about his impending mortality.

Meek said that the serious pain, worry and concern came from his family, who could only watch — unable to help — from the sidelines.

“I got used to it, but it is so hard on the family and the grandkids — not knowing if grandpa is gonna be around anymore,” Meek said.

“I was dead, I was gone, but six years on and I have had the opportunity to teach my grandkids bad habits and all that sort of stuff.

“The Austin Hospital staff were fantastic, you could not hope for anyone better.”

Meek’s life-saving donated liver came with roughly a day to spare, according to his surgeon.

Although the liver he received has its issues — Meek regularly has operations to remove and add stints to help release bile — the transplant saved his life and meant six years later, he was able to represent Victoria at the 2024 Australian Transplant Games in Canberra.

What are the games?

The enormity of the Paris Olympics and the continuous sour discourse that surrounds the Commonwealth Games has taken a large proportion of this year's sports media spotlight.

While these events have understandably stolen the screen time, more attention should be focused on the inspirational tournament that took place in Canberra from October 1-6 — the 17th edition of the Australian Transplant Games.

Held every two years, the games' athletes are made up of people who have received a transplant, are waiting for a transplant, have cystic fibrosis or various other health issues.

The games were formed in 1988 with the idea to inspire those needing or for those who have gone through a transplant to live their best life, while also providing a vast support network of people in a similar situation.

Transplant Australia chief executive Chris Thomas said the games had been a major success for the transplant community during the past 36 years.

“Invariably, (the athletes) have looked over the precipice of their own mortality and thought, ‘What is their future?’ ” Thomas said.

“Fortunately, they have received the gift of life from someone else and they are ready to live again.

“The purpose of the games is to help people celebrate their second chance at life.”

For a person to become an organ donor, they need to die in hospital, on a ventilator and in intensive care to ensure their organs are functioning for the potential recipient.

As a donor, up to seven people on the transplant waiting list — which sits at more than 1800 people — could potentially be saved.

Thomas said people looking to register as a donor should tell their families of their decision, as families have the final say on whether the person donates their organs or not.

“We encourage all Australians to register as organ donors,” he said.

“The reality is if you have registered as an organ donor, on about 90 per cent of occasions your family will support your decision.

“If you never registered or discussed it, the rate (of donating) drops from a family consent rate to about 40 per cent.

“If you are registered and are medically eligible you have doubled the chances of your family giving that final agreement to you becoming a donor — (the family) will always be given the final say.”

The topic of organ and tissue donation can be morbid to consider — especially for young people contemplating their death.

However, the demand for organs will always outstretch the supply, with roughly two people a week dying while waiting for an organ transplant.

Thomas said registering as a donor took away the stress a person’s family may feel when deciding whether to donate their loved one’s organs.

“Australia is a very happy-go-lucky society, we are a very positive society, we think it is never going to happen to me,’’ he said.

“We don’t think about our own mortality, we don’t think about wills or planning for our retirement because it seems many years away — sadly tragic accidents do happen.

“(Your family) is racked with emotional turmoil and grief about losing their loved one and this is just one issue for them to grapple with.

“One of the best things to do is register and tell them because that makes their decision so much easier if the possibility of donation arises.”

Head to the Donate Life or Transplant Australia websites for more details on registering and being a potential donor.

Meek strikes gold

Having competed at the 2023 World Transplant Games in Perth, Meek said he was better prepared this time around to compete in his beloved sport of lawn bowls at the recent Australian Transplant Games.

Meek’s connection to bowls started after his transplant surgery, when he wanted to do something competitive while conceding the rough and tumble sports were behind him.

He was then convinced to give lawn bowls a shot at Shepparton Park Bowls Club.

“I was way past kicking the footy,” Meek said.

“I had a roll of bowls and thought, ‘Oh yeah this is all right’.

“I came over to Shepp Park, one of the guys I live with at Lifestyle Village, one of the blokes encouraged me to come over and have a go at Park.

“That’s how I started and I have worked my way up through the divisions and got to play in (the games).”

After not winning any medals at the World Transplant Games, Meek decided he would place all his focus on this year's games in Canberra.

The 70-year-old said he left no bowl unrolled in the lead-up.

“The last couple of months before I went to Canberra to play, I was practising seven days a week for a couple of hours a day,” he said.

“I was putting in the effort and it paid off.”

Meek won gold in the doubles event (partnered with a man who had never played lawn bowls before) and also stormed home to win the over-70 singles category.

However, the rush of medals didn’t end there.

The sport of pétanque — similar to bowls — was low on numbers, so Meek volunteered, having “never thrown a pétanque ball in his life”, and walked away with a silver medal.

Meek said the sport of bowls and the Shepparton Park Bowls Club had helped him immeasurably, physically and mentally, since he first joined a few years ago.

“The people here at Shepparton Park are absolutely fantastic,” he said.

“They even let me do lots of hours of voluntary work, which is good.

“I’m the bar manager here (for two years), so that keeps me out of trouble.”