Photo Gallery for this post: Gary's Farewell
Having been retired for 5 years from Wyeth Canada I was very pleased to receive an invitation to a farewell party October 21, 2004 for Gary Pollard, one of my former bosses and a 35 year employee of Wyeth. Many of the guests were Wyeth people I hadn't seen since I retired and before my lung transplant.It was like old-home week for me because many of the nicest people I have ever met were at the party. I got some great photos and you can see them at Gary's Farewell
I also got to know Jim Connolly, Wyeth Canada President and Managing Director, who sat with me at dinner. He was very interested in my lung transplant and we discussed the various Wyeth drugs that support transplantation. I am proud that Wyeth has been a good supporter of the transplant program at Toronto General Hospital and are a sponsor of the Birthday Ball coming up this November 3rd.
Wyeth selected a very special restaurant, La Reserve in Markham, Ontario, for Gary's friends and colleagues to honor him and Marnie. For me, this was one of the most delicious and enjoyable meals I have ever had and a very fitting venue to say farewell to a couple of the nicest people one could ever meet. I also want to thank Sandy Trelford for inviting me and the wonderful job she did in organizing this event. Merv.
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Saturday, October 23, 2004
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
BIRTHDAY BALL
NOVEMBER 3, 2004 - BIRTHDAY BALL – ONLY 3 WEEKS LEFT TO GET TICKETS!
“Celebrating the 1st anniversary of the Toronto General Hospital’s
Transplant Center and the very special birthdays of all our transplant patients; marking the anniversaries of their second chance in life”
Two and a half years ago—April 19, 2001—I had one foot in the grave and was staring death in the face, dying from end stage respiratory failure due to pulmonary fibrosis. I was on oxygen 24/7. Then a miracle happened. In the early hours of the next morning, at exactly 2AM on April 20th, I received a phone call from the Trillium Gift of Life Network coordinator telling me that they had new lungs for me.
Following a medical symposium during the day, The Toronto General Hospital Transplant Centre Birthday Ball will be held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto to raise funds which will help the Transplant Centre become a world model in the delivery of patient care, the education of transplant health professionals and transplant research. Individual dinner tickets are $250 each or $2,500 for a table of 10. There are also sponsorship opportunities and an opportunity to donate a gift for the silent auction. If you are or your company are interested in purchasing dinner tickets, or receiving more information about sponsorship opportunities or donating to the silent auction, please contact Melanie Litwin at 416.340.4800 ext 6895 or email Melanie at melanie.litwin@uhn.on.ca
Cocktails: 6:30pm Dinner 7:30pm—Cocktail Attire—Silent Auction—Raffle— live entertainment and Hosted by Andy Barrie.
Guest speaker: Dr. Calvin Stiller, Chairman and CEO, Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund.
Purchase tickets online: Tickets
NOTE:
Dave Dunlop (waiting for a double lung transplant) has purchased tickets to the Birthday Ball and is trying to arrange for all lung-transplant patients, supports, friends and families to sit at the same tables. If you like this idea, once you have purchased tickets let me know at mervsheppard@rogers.com and I will coordinate things with Dave. Merv.
“Celebrating the 1st anniversary of the Toronto General Hospital’s
Transplant Center and the very special birthdays of all our transplant patients; marking the anniversaries of their second chance in life”
Two and a half years ago—April 19, 2001—I had one foot in the grave and was staring death in the face, dying from end stage respiratory failure due to pulmonary fibrosis. I was on oxygen 24/7. Then a miracle happened. In the early hours of the next morning, at exactly 2AM on April 20th, I received a phone call from the Trillium Gift of Life Network coordinator telling me that they had new lungs for me.
Following a medical symposium during the day, The Toronto General Hospital Transplant Centre Birthday Ball will be held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto to raise funds which will help the Transplant Centre become a world model in the delivery of patient care, the education of transplant health professionals and transplant research. Individual dinner tickets are $250 each or $2,500 for a table of 10. There are also sponsorship opportunities and an opportunity to donate a gift for the silent auction. If you are or your company are interested in purchasing dinner tickets, or receiving more information about sponsorship opportunities or donating to the silent auction, please contact Melanie Litwin at 416.340.4800 ext 6895 or email Melanie at melanie.litwin@uhn.on.ca
Cocktails: 6:30pm Dinner 7:30pm—Cocktail Attire—Silent Auction—Raffle— live entertainment and Hosted by Andy Barrie.
Guest speaker: Dr. Calvin Stiller, Chairman and CEO, Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund.
Purchase tickets online: Tickets
NOTE:
Dave Dunlop (waiting for a double lung transplant) has purchased tickets to the Birthday Ball and is trying to arrange for all lung-transplant patients, supports, friends and families to sit at the same tables. If you like this idea, once you have purchased tickets let me know at mervsheppard@rogers.com and I will coordinate things with Dave. Merv.
Friday, October 15, 2004
A Very Special Appreciation Breakfast
Photo Gallery for this post: Trillium Breakfast
Several Ontario Trillium Gift of Life Network staff and I spent this morning with about 30 or 40 hospital staff who are involved with Organ and Tissue Donation at the Trillium Health Centre, Mississauga Site, Missisauga, Ontario, Canada. This was an appreciation breakfast sponsored by Trillium Gift of Life Network.
It was an emotional time for me as I told the audience the story of my lung transplant and how thankful and grateful I was for the wonderful work they and others like them do. They rarely get to see an organ transplant recipient or receive recognition for their efforts. Mainly they only see the donor side of things, which can be heart-wrenching at times when dealing with families and their loved-ones who are potential organ donors.
I've been speaking about Organ Donation Awareness for the Trillium Gift of Life Network for about six months now and it was a great pleasure for me to finally meet some of the people that give the leadership and guidance for Organ Donation Awareness in Ontario.
I met Sue Wilson, President and CEO, Angela Diano, Community Relations Coordinator, Ida Bevilacqua, In-Hospital Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator and Fides Coloma, Director for Central and Northern Ontario. I met Fides last spring and it was nice to see her again. Plus I had a wonderful time speaking with many of the attendees.
What really impressed me today was that almost everyone involved would have crawled out of their beds extremely early this morning because the breakfast meeting started at 7:30am. Robin Zander, an Emergency Room nurse, drove about 80 miles to be at the meeting on her day off. I also met several others who came to the event on their day off.
I managed to get a few good shots for my photo gallery. You can view these at:
Trillium Breakfast
All in all, this was one of my better days because I felt I had really done something worthwile this morning. Merv.
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Several Ontario Trillium Gift of Life Network staff and I spent this morning with about 30 or 40 hospital staff who are involved with Organ and Tissue Donation at the Trillium Health Centre, Mississauga Site, Missisauga, Ontario, Canada. This was an appreciation breakfast sponsored by Trillium Gift of Life Network.
It was an emotional time for me as I told the audience the story of my lung transplant and how thankful and grateful I was for the wonderful work they and others like them do. They rarely get to see an organ transplant recipient or receive recognition for their efforts. Mainly they only see the donor side of things, which can be heart-wrenching at times when dealing with families and their loved-ones who are potential organ donors.
I've been speaking about Organ Donation Awareness for the Trillium Gift of Life Network for about six months now and it was a great pleasure for me to finally meet some of the people that give the leadership and guidance for Organ Donation Awareness in Ontario.
I met Sue Wilson, President and CEO, Angela Diano, Community Relations Coordinator, Ida Bevilacqua, In-Hospital Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator and Fides Coloma, Director for Central and Northern Ontario. I met Fides last spring and it was nice to see her again. Plus I had a wonderful time speaking with many of the attendees.
What really impressed me today was that almost everyone involved would have crawled out of their beds extremely early this morning because the breakfast meeting started at 7:30am. Robin Zander, an Emergency Room nurse, drove about 80 miles to be at the meeting on her day off. I also met several others who came to the event on their day off.
I managed to get a few good shots for my photo gallery. You can view these at:
Trillium Breakfast
All in all, this was one of my better days because I felt I had really done something worthwile this morning. Merv.
Email me
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Birthday Ball November 3, 2004
Photo Gallery for this post: Birthday Ball
After attending yesterday's meeting of the planning committe for the Toronto General Hospital's "Birthday Ball" I was so impressed with the progress the committe has made since our first meeting in July, I can't help but think that our event will be very, very successful. It looks like we could have 600 or more attending November 3rd, for a wonderful gala evening. You can see who the committee members are by going to Birthday Ball
The Ball is to "celebrate the first anniversary of the Toronto General Hospital's Transplant Center and the very special birthdays of all our transplant recipients; marking the anniversaries of their second chance at life".
Cocktails: 6:30pm Dinner 7:30pm—Cocktail Attire—Silent Auction—Raffle— live entertainment and Hosted by Andy Barrie. Guest speaker is Dr. Calvin Stiller, Chairman and CEO, Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund.
Following a medical symposium during the day, The Toronto General Hospital Transplant Center Birthday Ball will be held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto to raise funds which will help the Transplant Center maintain it's status a world model in the delivery of patient care, the education of transplant health professionals and transplant research.
Individual dinner tickets are $250 each or $2,500 for a table of 10. There are also sponsorship opportunities and an opportunity to donate a gift for the silent auction.
If you are or your company are interested in purchasing dinner tickets, or receiving more information about sponsorship opportunities or donating to the silent auction, please contact Melanie Litwin at 416.340.4800 ext 6895 or email Melanie at email Melanie> Purchase tickets online:TGWHF
See you there? Merv
Email me
After attending yesterday's meeting of the planning committe for the Toronto General Hospital's "Birthday Ball" I was so impressed with the progress the committe has made since our first meeting in July, I can't help but think that our event will be very, very successful. It looks like we could have 600 or more attending November 3rd, for a wonderful gala evening. You can see who the committee members are by going to Birthday Ball
The Ball is to "celebrate the first anniversary of the Toronto General Hospital's Transplant Center and the very special birthdays of all our transplant recipients; marking the anniversaries of their second chance at life".
Cocktails: 6:30pm Dinner 7:30pm—Cocktail Attire—Silent Auction—Raffle— live entertainment and Hosted by Andy Barrie. Guest speaker is Dr. Calvin Stiller, Chairman and CEO, Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund.
Following a medical symposium during the day, The Toronto General Hospital Transplant Center Birthday Ball will be held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto to raise funds which will help the Transplant Center maintain it's status a world model in the delivery of patient care, the education of transplant health professionals and transplant research.
Individual dinner tickets are $250 each or $2,500 for a table of 10. There are also sponsorship opportunities and an opportunity to donate a gift for the silent auction.
If you are or your company are interested in purchasing dinner tickets, or receiving more information about sponsorship opportunities or donating to the silent auction, please contact Melanie Litwin at 416.340.4800 ext 6895 or email Melanie at email Melanie> Purchase tickets online:TGWHF
See you there? Merv
Email me
Friday, October 08, 2004
Thanksgiving
This is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and we have so much to be thankful for. I guess we all have our own reasons to be thankful, such as the life we enjoy and the country we are privileged to live in. But as someone who has been rescued from death by a life-saving organ transplant, my reasons to be thankful are many and profound.
On a Saturday morning, April 20, 2002, I was given the Gift of Life by receiving a single-left lung transplant. I will be forever thankful to my surgeon, Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and his wonderful team at the Toronto General Hospital. I will be forever thankful and grateful to my donor and my donor's family who made the courageous decision to give me the Gift of Life. I've never met them and do not know who they are, but they will remain in my heart forever.
I'm also thankful to the nurses and other support staff at Toronto General Hospital who cared for me and made me feel that I was important to them and part of the hospital family. I managed to get quite a few photos while I was in recovery and plan to do a major article about my transplant which I will post here soon.
Oh God, am I ever thankful to so many other people; my family, friends and relatives who supported me and prayed for me during my ordeal and continue to do so; those who called and sent cards, gifts and letters and who still call to ask how I'm doing; my family physician, Dr. Rob Williams who diagnosed me with having end-stage Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and got me plugged into the health care system for immediate attention; Dr. Gerry Cox, my Pulmonary Specialist who confirmed the diagnosis and got me an interview with Dr. Lianne Singer, Lung-Transplant Pulmonary Specialist at Toronto General Hospital, who initiated the process to get me on the waiting list for a transplant.
I'm also very thankful to the Trillium Gift Of Life Network, The Canadian Transplant Association and all those groups and people who have been so actively promoting organ donation awareness. It hurts and saddens me to no end when I see people die while on the waiting list for a transplant.
I am thankful and grateful to be blessed with all the new friends and acquaintances I've made in the transplant, medical and hospital communities and some of these friends have become very close and an important part of my life.
So, when we have the family over for the traditional turkey dinner this weekend, I can truly say that I have much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Merv.
P.S.—Do you have a Thanksgiving message that you would like to see posted here?
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On a Saturday morning, April 20, 2002, I was given the Gift of Life by receiving a single-left lung transplant. I will be forever thankful to my surgeon, Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and his wonderful team at the Toronto General Hospital. I will be forever thankful and grateful to my donor and my donor's family who made the courageous decision to give me the Gift of Life. I've never met them and do not know who they are, but they will remain in my heart forever.
I'm also thankful to the nurses and other support staff at Toronto General Hospital who cared for me and made me feel that I was important to them and part of the hospital family. I managed to get quite a few photos while I was in recovery and plan to do a major article about my transplant which I will post here soon.
Oh God, am I ever thankful to so many other people; my family, friends and relatives who supported me and prayed for me during my ordeal and continue to do so; those who called and sent cards, gifts and letters and who still call to ask how I'm doing; my family physician, Dr. Rob Williams who diagnosed me with having end-stage Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and got me plugged into the health care system for immediate attention; Dr. Gerry Cox, my Pulmonary Specialist who confirmed the diagnosis and got me an interview with Dr. Lianne Singer, Lung-Transplant Pulmonary Specialist at Toronto General Hospital, who initiated the process to get me on the waiting list for a transplant.
I'm also very thankful to the Trillium Gift Of Life Network, The Canadian Transplant Association and all those groups and people who have been so actively promoting organ donation awareness. It hurts and saddens me to no end when I see people die while on the waiting list for a transplant.
I am thankful and grateful to be blessed with all the new friends and acquaintances I've made in the transplant, medical and hospital communities and some of these friends have become very close and an important part of my life.
So, when we have the family over for the traditional turkey dinner this weekend, I can truly say that I have much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Merv.
P.S.—Do you have a Thanksgiving message that you would like to see posted here?
Email me
Monday, October 04, 2004
A Grand Dinner On The Grand
Photo galleries for this post:
Dinner Cruise
Friday evening, October 1st, 2004 a group of lung transplant recipients and their spouses met at Grand River Cruises in Caledonia, Ontario, Canada for what turned out to be a very enjoyable and memorable dinner cruise along the beautiful Grand River, the largest river in the province of Ontario. Lung transplant recipients are kindred spirits and a good time was had by all as you will see by the photos.
I highly recommend Grand River Cruises for an enjoyable evening. They are now closed for the season but you may want to bookmark their URL:
Dinner Cruise
Friday evening, October 1st, 2004 a group of lung transplant recipients and their spouses met at Grand River Cruises in Caledonia, Ontario, Canada for what turned out to be a very enjoyable and memorable dinner cruise along the beautiful Grand River, the largest river in the province of Ontario. Lung transplant recipients are kindred spirits and a good time was had by all as you will see by the photos.
I highly recommend Grand River Cruises for an enjoyable evening. They are now closed for the season but you may want to bookmark their URL:
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