However, she said it was a decision she didn’t need to consider.

Ms Normington said she dropped Sebastian at his nanna’s house after an amazing evening watching fireworks.

The next morning, he collapsed.

Ms Normington got a call from her mother at about 9am, who was planning to take him to the Launceston General Hospital. An ambulance ended up being called.

“We went to the Launceston General Hospital, met the ambulance and my mum there, and they told me he had a bleed in the brain,” she said.

“I didn’t cope, and had to be triaged and calmed down.”

Ms Normington said they later found out Sebastian’s aneurysm was so rare that only 15 other cases in the world had previously been recorded.

He was soon airlifted down to the Royal Hobart Hospital for treatment.

“Before I’d even made it to Campbell Town [driving], he was in surgery,” she said.

“They called me to tell me he had been in surgery, and that they were putting a stent in.”

Ms Normington said upon arrival at the RHH, there were many “literal life or death” decisions to make.

Eventually, a specialist nurse from DonateLife spoke to her about the possibility of organ and tissue donation.

“I wasn’t a stranger to that, because I watch a lot of television shows and I like to think of myself as empathetic,” she said.

“I’d watch these TV shows and you know they’re fake, but you just get the gist of what people are actually going through.

“I actually registered to be an organ donor after watching these shows.

“So when [the DonateLife specialist nurse] came along and started talking about organ donation, we knew by this stage that it was just a matter of time before we decided to let him go.

“I already knew that I was going to say yes. There was no hesitation from me at all, I was waiting for her to stop so I could say yes.

“I just knew that if I had the chance to talk to Seb, at any point in time and said – ‘hey buddy, would you ever want to help other people when you passed away by giving them your super strength, or pass on your laser vision?’ – he would have loved it.”

Ms Normington said Sebastian was later able to pass on his “laser vision” onto four people.

“He helped two young children, a middle aged man, and an elderly woman,” she said.

With an eye tissue donation, the cornea and sclera can be transplanted and used to restore eyesight to those who are partially or completely blind, or prevent blindness due to injury.

“It is just the coolest feeling. I’m just so happy that out of something so out-of-the-blue and so devastating can come something so amazing,” Ms Normington said. 

“I love telling people that Seb got to pass on his laser-vision. He would have loved that. He would have loved that so much.

“He would have thought it was so cool to help someone like that. He was a great helper, so if he could help someone in any way possible he would.”

DonateLife executive officer Davin Hibberd said tissue donation did not receive as much acknowledgment and attention in the community.

“What Sarah described is something really incredible for four people,” he said.

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“Whilst it might not have been life-saving in the way that organs can be, donating tissue, and eyes in particular, has such a profound impact on somebody’s life. 

“Restoring sight restores the capacity to see things with family that otherwise those people might not have been able to do.

“It’s an incredibly generous gift to give to somebody else. Those four people, I’m sure, would be able to reinforce that.

“A lot of people in the community don’t realise how unpredictable the circumstances around you being in a position in hospital where a loved one might not be responding to any form of life-saving treatment, and then at a point where an end of life discussion is about to take place.

“We never get brought in to have a discussion with family unless a loved one isn’t responding to planned treatment to save their life.”

Mr Hibberd said Ms Normington was surprised at how rare organ and tissue donation was. 

Less than one per cent of people who die in hospital are able to pass on their organs, he said.

“Donating tissue is something that can be done a little more frequently,” he said.

“It’s all around the circumstances and the treatment that people might be receiving in hospital, and the events that lead up to them being in that particular place and time.”

Because Sebastian was having seizures in an induced coma, he was initially considered for organ donation. 

However, when he stopped seizing, Ms Normington said it was no longer an option.

“When I found out he wasn’t able to be an organ donor, I was actually a little bit disappointed,” she said.

“I felt a lot better when [the donation specialist nurse] said that he could still donate tissues from his eyes. It’s basically the definition of bittersweet.”

Mr Hibberd said the feeling was not uncommon in the feedback DonateLife recieve from donor families.

“The feedback that we get back from a lot of families, whether it’s organ donation or tissue donation, is that it’s one very positive outcome from what was potentially a very devastating set of circumstances,” he said.

“Particularly in the context of when it’s possible for the recipients to correspond with anonymously with donor families.

“We often find that that pathway of communication, even though it’s anonymous, it validates with families the decision that they made.

“Tissue donation is an equally incredible gift, and to be able to restore sight like that is just amazing. It would be such an incredible gift for them to receive.”

Ms Normington said it’s not like getting a prosthetic leg – it’s somebody giving a part of themselves.

“If you can consciously make that decision, the better,” she said.

Mr Hibbard said he hoped upon hearing Sarah and Sebastian Normington’s story, that the community would use it as a catalyst to register to become an organ and tissue donor.

“It just highlights how unexpected that opportunity can be, and the importance of having a discussion about organ and tissue donation at a time when it’s comfortable with your family,” he said.

Ms Normington said it was amazing that something as simple as “jotting down your details” could save a life.

“Whether or not my organs are viable, at least I know that I have the potential to help somebody else. I think that’s fantastic,” she said. 

DonateLife Week runs from July 29 to August 5. For more information and to join the donor register, visit donatelife.gov.au.