As a young couple, Niilo Edwards and Rachael Durie have endured more adversity than most people their age. After nearly a decade of marriage, they were faced with a shocking diagnosis that forced them to pause and re-examine the future. It was July 2018 when Niilo began experiencing persistent fatigue and a cough. As a...
Transplantation means different things to different people. For Michel Grandbois, it meant over two decades of living and making memories with his family, and the chance to watch his children grow into adults and have families of their own. Michel’s transplant story began many years ago, in the mid-1990’s when transplant science was rapidly advancing...
The transplanting of an organ is a complex undertaking, where the generous and selfless decision of one individual and family has the potential to transform the life of another person through the gift of donation. For 21-year-old Naomi Lee, a recent lifesaving heart transplant not only ended her struggle with end-stage heart failure, but it...
Reema Garcha is the newest member of the TRF team, having recently joined the board of directors. As a living kidney donor to her sister Binn, Reema knows firsthand that the best gift to give is the gift of life through organ donation. For National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW), Reema is sharing...
As part of our recent Christmas Campaign, we had grateful recipient Fiona Walker share how her pancreas and kidney transplants have enabled her to go from being very sick with an uncertain future, to now pursuing her dreams and giving back to the community as a paramedic. Celebrating her ten-year transplant anniversary this past summer...
Forever my Hero While the world was grappling with a new and virulent virus, Dakota Meredith was facing her own battle. Diagnosed with colitis when she was just a young child, Dakota later developed autoimmune hepatitis. Eventually, this condition evolved into primary sclerosis cholangitis. Dr. Eric Yoshida at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) was instrumental in...
By Kennedie and Mikaela Maidment In the spirit of Father’s Day, we are delighted to have Kennedie and Mikaela Maidment serve as guest writers for our June blog! It is often said that the impact of organ donation extends far beyond the donor and recipient. For the Maidment sisters, whose dad underwent a liver transplant,...
On May 8, my curious, caring and happy daughter Addison will be celebrating a milestone I honestly wasn’t sure she – and we – would ever see: 10 years with her gifted heart. That’s 10 years of life, 10 years of growing, 10 years of learning new things, 10 years of loving and being loved....
Optimism and drive are two things Paul Albrighton has in abundance. A successful real estate agent for Remax Crest Realty in Vancouver, Paul has worked hard to become one of the top realtors in Vancouver, achieving MLS Medallion status for the last twelve years. He is also the father of a beautiful five-year-old daughter. However,...
In the spirit of heart month we celebrate the journey of heart transplant recipient, Rob Williamson. With twenty-eight years of life thanks to his transplanted heart, Rob shares how he’s witness transplant medicine evolve over the last two decades. What has your transplant meant to you? Quite simply, it has given me my life back....