Aussie mum's life-changing call on way to see Taylor Swift: 'Meant to be'
Tamara Gray had been on a waiting list for a kidney transplant and got the call just in time.
Aussie mum Tamara Gray was about to board the plane in Queensland en route to Taylor Swift's much anticipated Sydney show when she received a call that would change her life forever.
The 35-year-old had been on a register for a kidney transplant. But she never expected a donation to become available when it did — 10 minutes before boarding her flight.
Gray's phone started ringing just after 8:30 am on Friday as she was about to board her delayed flight to Sydney with her friends. It was the hospital saying they had a kidney for her.
"I have something called IgA nephropathy, so it's an autoimmune disease that attacks my kidneys," the mum told 9news. "Obviously it was meant to be because if I was on that flight, basically I would've missed the call and there's only 30 minutes to answer otherwise they move on to the next recipient."
Disappointed she'd be missing the concert, the Queensland mum said, "I won't lie, there was a split second that I considered saying no [to the kidney], but, you know, I'm not crazy". Her friends, however, decided to continue on without her, but there's no bad blood, she said.
Qantas' huge move for stranded Swifties
Wild weather was to blame for flight delays and cancellations across the country with four Qantas flights out of Melbourne and seven flights out of Queensland cancelled on Friday ahead of Swift’s first Sydney concert.
But not wanting keen Swifties to miss out, Qantas sent in an Airbus A380 to ensure passengers arrived in Sydney on time, to replace the smaller Boeing 737 planes that could not fly.
"The A380 will carry 485 passengers, the equivalent of almost three Boeing 737 flights which normally operate this route," Qantas said in a statement on Friday morning.
"While this would normally be used to support our international network on flights to places like London and LA, given the incredibly high demand into Sydney today, it is being brought in to support the domestic operation."
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