Sarah Mears cared for her husband Jason full time for about 18 months while he was waiting and then recovering from his liver transplant. We asked Sarah ‘why she cared’

I was more than happy to become Jas’s full time carer as I desperately wanted him happy and healthy so we could enjoy our life together again. He had been sick with an autoimmune disease since he was about 18, and a liver transplant became the only option when he got to his late 30s.

Most of our marriage was spent with a life threatening illness in the background....and last couple of years were spent full of hospital visits, appointments, tests...and the occasional rush to emergency.

I hate hospitals but I quickly learned the ropes in order to get the best care for Jas.

He was an easy patient...never complained...but it was so tough watching him deteriorate day by day, knowing there was nothing I could do to speed up him getting a donor liver.

I just had to make sure he was as comfortable...and as healthy...as he could be.

It was utter relief when he got the call, and then his much needed transplant...it was the start of a new journey with different challenges.

However, his recovery was smooth and he was very determined to do everything possible to get back to full health.

It took me about 6 months post transplant to stop thinking like a carer and become a wife again.

It took ages for me to stop laying awake at night wondering if he was going to have an episode...to realise that I didn’t have to get him to endless appointments etc...that there were going to be no more rushed trips to hospital.. that he could drive again....we could finally live a normal life!

And last Sunday, just over six years after his transplant, I watched him cross the finish line of the Melbourne Marathon.

Every time he achieves yet another goal post transplant, I am so proud to have been a part of getting him through those dark times and excited to be sharing these new adventures with him!