What if the biggest turning point of your life arrived disguised as an ordinary day?

Rob Manning thought he was fine. Busy, healthy enough, carrying on. But his wife, Claire, wouldn’t let it go — she insisted he see a GP. Rob planned to make the appointment… and quietly “forget” to return.

Instead, within minutes, a doctor took one look and said the words that split his life into before and after.

In this conversation with Karen Sander, Rob shares the shocking speed of his decline, the surreal experience of a coma, and the moment he woke up with a new liver — a second chance made possible by another family’s unimaginable loss. Together, we explore how you hold gratitude and grief in the same hands, what it means to be loved with fierce steadiness, and why Rob has dedicated his second chance to changing organ and tissue donation awareness and advocacy.

This is a story about the quiet moments that save us — the appointments we almost don’t make, the conversations we didn’t plan, and the “yes” that can ripple into many lives.

Explore more at thestoryroomglobal.com and step inside The Backstage Pass for exclusive conversations and live storytelling moments from the live events.

Keywords (helps search): liver transplant, organ donation Australia, donor families, DonateLife, end stage liver disease, GP check-up, second chance, grief and gratitude, marriage resilience, Story Room Global.