Liver recipient to walk 120 miles to honor his donor

BULLETIN:
The walkers completed the 120 mile/200km walk Friday April 27th at 5:30 P.M. in 6 days, 2 days ahead of their plan. The next step will take place on Monday April 30th in London. They will be walking to the University Hospital from the corner of Fanshawe Park Rd. & Richmond (approx. 1 mile or 1.5km.) Everyone is welcome to join them. They are meeting at 9:30 A.M. at the corner of Fanshawe Park Rd. and Richmond St. in the plaza with the Petro Canada Gas Station and Richies Restaurant.

Dr. Wall who performed Tom's transplant and members of the medical team along with members of The Trillium Gift of Life Network will greet them with a special celebration and reception at 11:00 A.M. at the University Hospital on the 4th floor.

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65-year-old liver transplant recipient, Tom Awad, is walking from Windsor, Ontario to London, Ontario during Canadian National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW), April 22-29 to pay tribute to his donor and organ donor families across Canada.

The walk is scheduled to proceed from Festival Plaza, Riverside Drive, in Windsor Sunday April 22nd at 9:00 am and proceed to Cabana Rd. (County Rd.42) through St. Joachim to highway # 2 to Tilbury, then onto Chatham.

They will then walk through Louisville, Thamesville, Wardsville, Strathburn, Melbourne, Lambeth, to London’s University Hospital, the sight of Tom’s transplant and visit the medical team that nurtured him back to health.

Family, friends and the general public are invited to walk the first 2 km. with Roger and Tom as the Windsor Family Credit Union (WFCU) sends them off. Roger Awad, age 64, will be supporting his brother Tom by joining him. Aside from creating organ donation awareness, they will be raising funds for the 2008 Canadian Transplant Games being held in Windsor, Ontario. Between 400 and 500 transplant athletes and their families will be participating in the Olympic style games to celebrate the “Gift of Life” they received and to honor their donors and their families. The University of Windsor is hosting the events at their new stadium.

See the poster below for all the details.

click image for larger picture

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

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LIVING GREEN RIBBONS FORMED ACROSS THE PROVINCE

Events held in 11 cities to recognize National Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Ontario

April 26, 2007 - Toronto, ON – Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) and The Kidney Foundation of Canada, working in partnership with local volunteer groups formed province wide living green ribbons over the last 5 days in recognition of National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Ontario.

“This is a record year for the number of cities participating in the living green ribbon event,” said Frank Markel, President and CEO of Trillium Gift of Life Network. “This is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation across this province, and we hope all of the events this week will help people think about organ and tissue donation, talk to their families about their wishes and sign their donor cards.”

Participants wearing green ponchos joined together and formed Living Green Ribbons in Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Renfrew, Sarnia, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Windsor.

"When we began the Living Green Ribbon, our greatest wish was that it could become a provincial event drawing attention each year to the tremendous need for organ and tissue donation," said Leanne McDougall, Director on the Kidney Foundation Ottawa Board. "Our dream has become a reality and now, with the support of the Trillium Gift of Life Network, Kidney Foundation offices across the province are holding their own Living Green Ribbon events. Together we will be able to take a strong message to everyone in Ontario that organ and tissue donation works, saves lives, gives sight, eases suffering and provides a second chance to many who feared that chance would never come."

The Kidney Foundation of Canada began The Living Green Ribbon concept 6 years ago in Ottawa, Ontario.

Today in Ontario, 1748 patients are on the transplant waiting list. Of those, 1086 are men, 632 are women and 30 of those patients are children.

“National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week is a 7 day event held annually to promote the importance of organ and tissue donation,” said Markel. “Events like this one today celebrate the efforts of volunteers, the generosity of donors and the lives of those who have been given the gift of life. If you want to find out about more events that are taking place this week, please visit our website at Trillium Gift of Life.

Note: For information about all participating cities & links to photos of previous Living Green Ribbons please go to: Living Green Ribbon.

CANADIAN BAND SHAYE PLAYS “A VERY SPECIAL CONCERT” FOR PATIENTS ON ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST

Celebrates National Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Week by joining awareness campaign

April 24, 2007 - Toronto, ON – Award -winning Canadian Band Shaye with special guest Tom Cochrane will join Trillium Gift of Life Network to play “A very special concert” for patients on the waiting list and launch their Celebrity Campaign Poster tonight.

“We are so excited and proud to have such a great Canadian Band working with us,” said Frank Markel, President and CEO of TGLN. “These women are really committed to helping us save more lives. When they heard that there were over 1700 people on the waiting list, they wanted to do something to ease that pain. And the result was this concert. I want to thank Shaye and their special guest Tom Cochrane so much for their help and their dedication to organ and tissue donation – this concert and this partnership is going to be terrific.”

Shaye, comprised of Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean approached TGLN after the launch of the Celebrity Awareness Campaign in August 2006 to get involved.

Shaye is named after Tara's sister who died when the group was just getting together 5 years ago. She was denied the honour of donating her organs because they didn't locate next of kin in time. Damhnait first witnessed the incredible gift of organ donation when close family friend Kevin Lewis Jr. successfully received a double lung transplant almost ten years ago and again five years later when his brother Chad was given a pair of lungs. Chad didn't make it, but he was given the best shot in the world, one we all deserve. Tom Cochrane was pleased to be a part this special event as it is an issue that is also close to his family's heart.

"This issue will inevitably touch us all. We feel it is an extraordinary privilege to play this concert. Life is about hope and living moment to moment and this is something these people know so well. We, along with our dear friend Tom Cochrane, just want to give them a night to remember, so they know we are thinking of them and fighting for them."

Attendees at the concert will be treated to an hour-long set hosted by Seamus O’Regan, co-host of Canada AM and will form Toronto’s living green ribbon for the week. Other Green Ribbons will be formed in Sudbury, Guelph, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston, Renfrew, Sarnia, Thunder Bay and Windsor in the days to follow.

Today in Ontario, 1748 patients are on the waiting list. Of those, 1086 are men, 632 are women and 30 of those patients are children.

“A band like Shaye can make a difference. This concert and the poster for the campaign will go a long way to reaching people. It’s important that every person in this province, in this country knows that each one of them has the power in them to help save a life. It’s as easy as having a conversation with your loved ones about your wishes. Please, sign your card and speak to your family today.”

National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week runs from April 22-29

For more details on National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week events, or for local waiting list numbers please go to Trillium Gift of Life or call 416.363.4001 or toll free 1-800-263-2833.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of YourDecision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

NEW RECORD ACHIEVED FOR ORGAN DONATION IN ONTARIO

Trillium Gift of Life Network proud of results, but says there is more to do

April 23, 2007 -Toronto, ON - Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) kicked off National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW) today by announcing a new record for organ donation in Ontario. The 2006-2007 fiscal year ended with 184 deceased donations, up from 169 deceased donations in the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

“Our team of health care professionals, hospitals and Ontarians have been working extremely hard to save more lives, and for this record, we are extremely proud- but there is more to do,” said Frank Markel, President and CEO of TGLN.

The previous record for organ donation was set in calendar year 2006 with 172 deceased organ donations.

“There are still too many Ontarians on the waiting list today,” said Markel. “We are going to continue our push to increase donation. I would encourage everyone to sign their donor cards and speak to their families about their wishes. Every decision can make a difference - every decision can save lives.”

On January 9, 2006, the McGuinty government enacted a section of the Trillium Gift of Life Network Act calling for routine notification and request (“RNR”) requiring 13 hospitals to report every death to TGLN. On January 8, 2007, TGLN worked with 8 more hospitals to add RNR to their facilities. Since RNR began, referrals have more than quadrupled, leading to an increase in organ and tissue donation.

Other initiatives undertaken to increase organ and tissue donation rates in Ontario were:

• Introduction of Donation after Cardiac Death - 10 cases done in fiscal year 2006/07



• Effective requesting training for all TGLN in-hospital coordinators



• Increased education and awareness of the facts around organ and tissue donation aimed at the general public and healthcare providers



• Adoption of best practices from the United States’ “Breakthrough Collaborative”

“These results are encouraging,” said Markel. “We are very enthusiastic and will continue to work in cooperation with all of our health care partners to do our very best. Every one of us takes the responsibility of organ and tissue donation very seriously - we know we can save more lives.”

National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week runs from April 22-29.

For more details on National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week events, or for local waiting list numbers please go to Trillium Gift of Life or call 416.363.4001 or toll free 1-800-263-2833.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Today I celebrate the 5th anniversary of my new life

It's warm and sunny here in Waterloo, Ontario today and I'm planning to do something that I've enjoyed over the years, and that's celebrating my 5 years of extra life by going for a long hike in the woods, something I couldn't do when I was in end stage respiratory failure and waiting for a lung transplant.

In this photo I'm in the ICU post-transplant. Looks are deceiving, because inside I was bursting with the joy of knowing my life had been saved and saying silent thanks to my donor, my donor's family, Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and the lung transplant team and everyone else that supported me, prayed for me and sent best wishes.
That's me 5 years later, (standing beside the cake and flowers) yesterday at Toronto General Hospital. I have a big smile because I was in a state of surprise. Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and others got me to the hospital under the guise that I was going to be meeting with some potential major financial donors for his lung transplant program.
But it turned out to be a celebration in honor of my 5 year anniversary. I was also presented with an Honorary Doctor of Philanthropy degree by Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation and honored by Trillium Gift of Life Network, for my contributions to fund raising for the hospital and advancing organ donation awareness. View all of the pictures at my photo journal.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

My 5-year assessment results

The 5-year assessment this week of my lung transplant generally went well but it was a busy day, with blood work at 7:30AM, Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs), a bone scan, chest x-ray, a 6 minute walk and clinic appointments.

The only negative was that the PFT's showed my FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second) has dropped from a high of 2.1 liters post-transplant to 1.6 liters 5 years later. So the transplant team has prescribed azithromycin (Zithromax) 3 days a week in an effort to not only halt, but reverse the declining lung function.

Zithromax is a macrolide antibiotic and this treatment is based on studies done with lung transplant patients who have Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS). It has not been confirmed that I actually have BOS but I'm happy to go along with the theory that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Brief Intermission

There will be no new posts for a day or two while I'm at Toronto General Hospital for the 5-year assessment of my lung transplant. Meanwhile, please browse the previous posts and extensive links. Thanks, Merv.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Thanks to others, she's a survivor

I've become friends with Dana Trude since we connected prior to her transplant and her positive attitude and desire to live made a great impression on me. Now that she's had her heart and double-lung transplant, she continues to set an example for us all, even in the face of setbacks such as rejection. She attended a recent Trillium Gift of Life Network volunteer session and is anxious to promote organ donation awareness. In this article Dana urges people to consider donating their organs after death. "You can live the rest of your life knowing you can save somebody's life."

ANNE KELLY, THE RECORD

KITCHENER, Ontario - Apr 13, 2007

Dana Trude had no idea she was dying. The same day she was called to Toronto General Hospital to receive a new heart and lungs, the 45-year-old Kitchener mother worked a full day in her job as an administrative support person at K-W Habilitation Services.

"I felt great," Trude recalls, while recovering at home from the rare procedure done Dec. 12.

So the petite organ recipient was shocked to hear recently from a psychiatric nurse at the hospital, that her life was slipping away before her transplant.

"It was devastating. I had no clue I was actually dying," she says. "I didn't realize, I guess, that I was always gasping for air. ''

Trude was one of just four people who received a double lung and heart transplant in 2006 at Toronto General.

The hospital, which performed the first heart-lung transplant in Canada in 1985, is the only transplant centre in Ontario that does the surgery.

Read the full article.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Organ recipient, 26, intends to 'give back' by helping others

I first came in contact with Tim Fretwell when he called me for information about a Trillium Gift of Life Network information session for volunteers. At the time he expressed a profound interest in "giving back" as a volunteer and I had the opportunity to meet him in person along with his family at the volunteer meeting. Tim's desire to promote organ donation awareness is typical of most transplant recipients I know, who are so grateful and thankful for being given a second chance at life.

The Record, Kitchener, Ontario
(Apr 13, 2007)
by Anne Kelly

There was a time that Tim Fretwell hated doctors, nurses and hospitals.

He would never have been willing to donate his organs.

Now, with a new pancreas and kidney giving him a fresh start in life, the Kitchener man has changed his tune.

At 26, he's planning to join the health care profession and become a respiratory therapist. He has also signed his organ donor card and is willing to pass on his eyes, bones skin and any usable organs after his death.

"You might not have a chance to help someone when you're alive, but you sure could have a chance to save a life when you're dead," Fretwell says in an interview at the home he shares with fiancé Mandy Gravel.

Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at 15 months old, Fretwell has struggled through temporary blindness and was on kidney dialysis for 3 1/2 years.

"I would never wish what I've gone through in my life on anybody," he says.

But enduring countless tests and procedures sparked a fascination with the workings of the human body, especially the lungs.

He was full of questions about how diagnostic technology works.

"I've taken so much, it's time to give back," Fretwell says.

Read the full article.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Breathe In Life Walk Sunday, May 27, 2007

Double-lung transplant recipient Anne Barbetta (December, 2005) is organizing a walk to raise money for lung transplant research at Toronto General Hospital. Anne and her husband Geoff Brown have been very active in supporting the lung transplant program at Toronto General Hospital and I encourage you to support this initiative to raise funds for lung transplant research.

I'll will be joining the walk and look forward to you joining me if you can make it. Everyone is invited to take part by doing the walk, securing pledges or making a donation to the cause. If you can't make it to the walk and would like to help by sponsoring me, please do so on line by clicking here or e-mail me your pledge. Thanks a million, Merv.

Breathe in Life Walk


• Sunday, May 27, 2007


• Location: Fairy Lake Park, Newmarket, Ontario


• Fee Before May 20, 2007: $25 per person


• Fee Day of event: $30 per person


• Fee: Team for Transplant (4 people per team) $100


• Children under 10 years with a registered adult - free


• Register online at Team For Transplant


• Registration on race day: 9:00AM to 9:45AM


• Walk Start time: 10:00 A.M.


• 1 km or 5 km walk for life


• Walkers with $25 in donations will receive a free t-shirt


• After Walk Party: Food, drinks, prizes and draws


• The Most Fulfilling Walk of 2007


• This event is under the auspices of Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, Reg. charity number 123864068 RR0001


• 100% of net proceeds to benefit
  Lung Transplant Research at Toronto General Hospital

For further inquiries E-Mail or visit the Breathe in Life web site.

A note from the organizers:
"By participating in the walk and/or making a donation, you are making an enormous difference in the lives of thousands of individuals who are either on the waiting list for a lung transplant or living with the reality of lung cancer."

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Concert for Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Glen Gould Studio, Toronto

FLASH - April 11/07 - Kari Cuss of Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) advises there are still seats available for the concert, which has now been extended to include Tom Cochrane who has just been added to the roster and Seamus O'Regan, who will be hosting. Feel free to pass to friends, family etc! TGLN advises that they would love to have you attend.

Also, when at the concert be sure to look for the Semi-Detached Press booth where they will be selling copies of Stories From Her Journey with proceeds going to Trillium Gift of Life.

During National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, Trillium Gift of Life Network in Ontario is working with the Canadian band Shaye to give a concert for everyone on the organ donation waiting list, as well as those members of the transplant community as noted above. Please circulate this invitation to anyone you know who might enjoy the concert. Thanks.

As the poster states, the concert will be held Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at Glen Gould Studio, 250 Front St. W., Toronto, Ontario. Doors open at 6:30PM - concert starts at 7:30PM. IMPORTANT: To attend you must R.S.V.P. and obtain a registration number. Call 416-619-2313 or E-mail.

click poster for larger image


Shaye is Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean. Three talented musicians, all three of whom have had successful solo careers, combine their talents to create Shaye. Kim Stockwood, from Newfoundland, whose voice - open and exposed - teems with life. Her tenor tells stories from the toughest of places with the wriest of humour. Damhnait Doyle, also from Newfoundland, whose voice - deep, expansive, beautiful - can be threatening even when restrained, like the calm before the impending storm. Tara MacLean, from Prince Edward Island, whose voice - lilting and resilient - can carry you off in an easy breeze, then suddenly spurn you with the force of a gale. Their Long Awaited Album Lake Of Fire hit stores in November 2006.

Together, they are Shaye, one of the most exciting musical collaborations that Canada has seen in a long time. Shaye is the result of years of planning, of a year and a half of recording, a time when these three women confronted births and deaths, tragedy and deepened friendship. These are three voices that compliment one another effortlessly, without losing any of their distinct identities. Rarely will you find such perfectly textured harmonies.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

New liver didn't come in time

This article in today's Kitchener paper further highlights the lack of organs for transplant and the need for everyone to sign their donor cards and tell their families of their wishes to be an organ donor.

Too long on waiting list
by BRIAN CALDWELL

THE RECORD, KITCHENER, ON. (Apr 11, 2007)
Jack MacIntyre always said everything would be OK. This time, he was wrong.

After five years on a waiting list for a liver transplant, the Kitchener man got a skin infection and died of septic shock while on a recent family vacation in Cuba.

"We were both still holding out hope that the stupid beeper would go off," said his wife, Wendy. "He really was a wonderful guy and I miss him like crazy."

Relatives say it was typical of MacIntyre -- a stubborn, optimistic man who had come close to death before -- to risk a trip abroad to make lasting memories for his daughter, Yvonne, 10, and son, Dayna, 8.

As his family members prepare for a memorial service on Saturday, they also say MacIntyre would have wanted his ordeal to make others stop and consider organ donation.

"That would be a good legacy," said his brother, Doug, a family doctor in Sutton, Ont.

"It would be important to him that someone else on the list maybe lives because people have thought about it."

Go to the full newspaper article.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Curling for Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Saturday, April 7, 2007

It was heartwarming to see so many turn out on a cold, snowy day Saturday for the 13th annual Curling Bonspiel & Luncheon for Organ Donation Awareness at the Brantford Golf & Country Club in Brantford, Ontario. Some came to take part in the curling events and others just came for the 2-hour lunch to hear organ transplant recipients tell their stories and listen to speeches from Members of Parliarment and civic officials. This photo shows lung transplant recipient Barry Chadbolt and liver recipient Rob Kolatschek doing their part to raise awareness.
For all the photos go the the photo gallery.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Easter Wishes From Trillium Gift of Life Network

As a volunteer for Trillium Gift of Life Network I am pleased to post this Easter message.

April 4, 2007 - Toronto, ON – As Easter weekend approaches Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) is reminding Ontarians that 1748 men, women and children are still on the organ donation waiting list in this province.

“These numbers are too high,” said Frank Markel, President and CEO of TGLN, “And Ontarians can do something about it. This weekend, as you gather with family for holiday celebrations, please take a moment to speak to your loved ones about your organ donation wishes - Every single person in this province has the ability to save a life – what’s stopping you?”

Today in Ontario, 1748 patients are on the transplant waiting list. Of those, 1086 are men, 632 are women and 30 of those patients are children.

"This has been a very restrictive time in my life," said Linda Lycett, Grandmother of 4 from Etobicoke who has been waiting for a kidney for over 5 years.

"No longer can I stay at my daughter's house with my grandchildren for a few days and my travel days are over. We need to raise awareness about organ donation in Ontario because there are so many people, just like me who want to be able to carry on in our normal lives and feel healthy and productive once again. I am so thankful that dialysis is saving my life, but look forward to having the gift of a kidney transplant, and regaining my freedom once again. Please talk to your family about your organ donation wishes today - you have the power to make a difference to someone like me."

Every three days someone on the organ donation waiting list dies. “It's critical to share your decision with your family, as they will be approached and asked for final consent to donate your organs after your death. This Easter, take a moment, talk to your family and give them a copy of your signed donor card so they can understand, support and respect your wishes in the future. You can save a life.”

Trillium Gift of Life Network is a not-for-profit agency of the Government of Ontario and is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating and supporting organ and tissue donation across Ontario and improving the system so that more lives can be saved.

For more details on Trillium Gift of Life Network please visit our website or call 416.363.4001 or toll free 1-800-263-2833.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card

Some notes on living donation

Transplant Living, a U.S. on-line resource for transplant information, published this article in their current newsletter. Living donor transplants are becoming more prevalent as thousands more people are waiting for life-saving transplants than donor organs are available. Visit the web site.

Living Donation
Living organ donation dates back to 1954, when a kidney from one twin was successfully transplanted into his identical brother. Today, the number of living organ donors is more than 6,000 per year. And one in four of these donors isn’t biologically related to the recipient.

By offering a kidney, lobe of a lung, portion of the liver, pancreas, or intestine, living donors offer their loved one or friend an alternative to waiting on the national transplant waiting list for an organ from a deceased donor.

To learn more about living organ donation, Visit the web site.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Click Here to Obtain a Donor Card