A year ago today, Mr Shaw (62) underwent a 13-hour life-saving operation at Auckland City Hospital.
He received a liver transplant and heart reconstruction at the same time, the first operation of its type performed in New Zealand and only the sixth in the world.
Desperately ill, he was quite resigned to the fact he was going to die - "I was absolutely buggered ... I could feel myself going" - and he was told before the operation that it could go either way.
But Mr Shaw survived and, 12 months down the track, he has a new outlook on life.
"Hey, I'm here. I'm breathing," he said, with a broad grin.
"It's the simple things like going out [and] smelling a rose is absolutely beautiful, going for a walk down to the beach."
Mr Shaw's wife, Sharon, said her husband now appreciated life.
"He was always rushing and doing things. He was a workaholic. Now he's got such great patience and he never had before."
His recovery has been slow and relatively trouble-free, apart from the removal of a hernia which grew so large he was unable bend to to put his shoes on.
He is now down to four-monthly checks with his lead surgeon, John McCall, formerly of Auckland and now living in Dunedin, whom Mr Shaw described as a "magic man".
Mr Shaw now enjoyed just being at home, pottering around.
A typical day included spending a few hours on the computer, going for a walk, having a couple of hours' sleep and feeding the couple's animals.
"The body lets you know what you can do and what you can't do.
"Heavy lifting is, at this stage, a no-go zone. I can't do anything strenuous," he said.
Mr Shaw, who gave up drinking and smoking after a massive stroke while living in Australia, freely acknowledged he used to abuse his body.
"I just took it to the max," he said.
He has kept his damaged liver in a shed at his home, although it is destined to be buried at some stage, and three or four people have stopped drinking after seeing it.
At the time his hernia was removed, cancer was cut out of his face, although there was still cancer in his nose - not that it fazed Mr Shaw.
"That's nothing," he said.
