Pieter van de Rest received a donor heart, something that has changed his life dramatically. “I received my heart from someone else. I am humbled and grateful for the ultimate demonstration of generosity.”
Van de Rest was 32 when he had a stroke which changed his life completely. Van de Rest lived with the consequences for 10 years, during which he had children. In that time he had several operations including a defibrillator. Every now and then he would go into a coma, living in fear because death was always very close. In 2007, Van de Rest was in the hospital for 9 months, waiting for a new heart.
“I was lucky, very very lucky. It’s a sad thing to know that someone had to die to give me life but I comfort myself in knowing I had nothing to do with her death. The sweetest woman.”
Van de Rest describes how he doesn’t have a nerve connection to his brain. Your heart is connected to your subconscious brain but Van de Rest’s is not and operates purely autonomously. If you go up the stairs, your brain will tell your heart to speed up the frequency. His heart doesn’t have a clue. Without the nerve connection to his brains, Van de Rest struggles with questions like: “Who am I and can I reach my soul when I’m disconnected?
Photo: Maurice Mikkers
“When I got a heart, I felt it was the heart of a woman. Of course it was a 50% guess, but I was right.” When Van de Rest got out of the hospital, he started searching for his donor online. Each time, the same name came up. One day he got on his motor bike and drove to her address. When he arrived, he felt this was her home. Two years later he had published his book and appeared in a TV show. “The next day her husband called and told me: ‘I think you are the one.’ He was so glad he found me, and we met after a few days and started with an emotional embrace. It was an emotional and unique experience which gave comfort to her husband and a way for me to show my gratitude.”
The husband had lost the love of his life, and Van de Rest had nothing but gained from it. This sign of pure love put Van de Rest on a mission: to tell the world about the importance of organ donation. It saves lives, the most wonderful gift you can ever give. He founded a new organization called Dona Dona, which gives the opportunity for donors and receivers to find each other.
In this new medical era where it’s possible for lives to flow between people in a symbiotic way, we should accept the fact that human values have to follow. Van de Rest passionately wanted to make organ donation something human, not just clinical. Organ donation is a two way street. “I believe that everyone who is willing to receive a donor organ for himself or for his loved ones, must also be prepared to give. Now it’s the time to talk about this with your family, they are the ones that have to decide. Now is the time to start sharing lives!”
PIeter and his daughter Pien van de Rest. Photo: Jan-Jaap Heine
Van de rest surprises us by inviting his daughter to stage. Fourteen-year-old Pien sang “Colors of the Wind” for us, a song about respect for life.
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