Young athlete’s organs will give others a second chance at life

At 23, Naomi Vincent had just stepped into a new phase of life. A promising Kho Kho player, a budding actor and a postgraduate in Psychology from St. Thomas College, Thrissur, she was travelling to Thiruvananthapuram for her first job when tragedy struck. Four days later, doctors declared her brain dead on Sunday.

Now, even as her family comes to terms with the unimaginable loss, Naomi’s life is set to continue through others. Her family has consented to donate her organs, offering hope to patients awaiting transplants.

The organ retrieval process is under way under the supervision of Youth Affairs and Sports Minister O.J. Janeesh and Culture Minister P.C. Vishnunadh, officials said.

Naomi sustained critical injuries in a collision between the car in which she was travelling and a parcel lorry at Valakom, near Kottarakara, in the early hours of June 25. She was first admitted to a private Hospital in Kottarakara, before being shifted to KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, where doctors confirmed brain death on Sunday morning.

Mother, brother injured

She had been travelling with her mother, Gypsy, and brother Joel to Thiruvananthapuram for her new job when the accident occurred around 4 a.m. Her mother and brother, who were also injured, are undergoing treatment at Ashwini Hospital in Thrissur.

Friends and teachers remember Naomi as much for her infectious enthusiasm as for her accomplishments. She represented her district in Kho Kho, actively participated in cultural programmes at St. Thomas College and also acted in the film Kho Kho.

Her death has cast a pall of grief over her hometown of Pullanikkad, near Wadakkanchery, and the college community that watched her grow into a confident young woman with dreams of building a career in psychology. Naomi is survived by her father Vincent, a driver; Gypsy, a gym trainer; sister Angel, a schoolteacher in Ernakulam; and Joel, a student of St. Thomas College.

While her own journey has been cut short, her family hopes that through organ donation, Naomi’s legacy will live on in the lives she saves.