Zach Tremblay and his mother, Jana, remain ensconced in Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver, although they did venture out on Monday night to watch the Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1, in what was an entertaining game.
Zach, all decked out in an Elias Pettersson sweater, and Jana took in the action from near the penalty box in Rogers Arena.
Zach, 16, and Jana are from Robson, B.C., which is across the Columbia River from
Castlegar, which just happens to be the hometown of Canucks head coach Travis Green.
Yes, it’s a small world. How small? The Greens lived across the street from Jana, who tells me that she used to babysit Travis and his brother David.
After Monday’s game, Zach and Jana were taken to the players’ area for a meet-and-greet where he visited with Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev.
“What a great guy he was,” Jana posted, “so friendly and just chatted with Zach.”
And how did Jana sum up the whole thing when it was over.
“It was so cool to see (Zach) take this all in,” she wrote. “Overwhelming really. And when 
we got home the emotions of it all hit me, and I was the messy mom.”
If you’re a regular here, you will know that Zach and Jana have been in Vancouver for a few weeks now. They started out at B.C. Children’s Hospital, then moved to Ronald McDonald House as Zach transitions from peritoneal dialysis (PD) to hemodialysis, all of this while he waits and hopes for a new kidney.
Earlier Monday, Jana reported that “hemodialysis is going very well. He is tolerating it very well, his numbers are fantastic and he feels better than he has in a long time . . . eating more, lots of energy. So good to see . . . our boy is back.”
Prior to this stint in Vancouver, Zach had been doing PD at home in Robson. When they get back home, he will be doing hemo at the hospital in Trail; however, there doesn’t seem to be any hint as to when that will happen.
“Trail’s (dialysis) unit is full right now — eight chairs and a full schedule with people on the wait list,” Jana noted. “They are currently installing a ninth chair and training new staff.”
Jana continued: “This of course takes time, so we are literally in IHA (Interior Health Authority) limbo while this all happens and they have room for Zach in their schedule . . . patience is apparently a virtue . . .”
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
TAKING NOTE 