Welcome to a site where we sometimes provide food for thought, and often provide information about the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation.
On the off chance that you haven’t seen this five-minute video that has been making the rounds, it just might lighten your day . . . It’s from M*A*S*H and it’s a lot of fun . . .
If you aren’t aware, kidney walks in Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C. and the Yukon have been cancelled for 2020. That doesn’t mean that they have completely disappeared.
No way!
Instead, they all have gone virtual, and we’ll be Walking the Block on June 7 and would like you to join us.
Are you excited for June 7? 50 days to #KidneyWalk! We're looking forward to Walking the Block with you. Although we won’t meet face to face, there are still many ways you can show our community that you’ve got their back! Register today at https://t.co/enGRZkXfVl#walktheblockpic.twitter.com/6zfDrUJGQs
It seems like it was a thousand years ago, but it really Walking thwas less than two months ago — Feb. 22 — when David Ayres came out of the stands to play goal for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 6-3 victory over the host Toronto Maple Leafs.
Ayres, a kidney transplant recipient, now is helping raise funds for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
Kidney transplant recipient David Ayres rose to fame when he made his NHL debut as emergency goaltender. Today, he’s stepping in again for a different kind of emergency situation, and he needs your help. https://t.co/kReIEA1RCK
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 💻 The recording of our April 15th webinar titled, COVID-19 and Dialysis Patients: Your Questions Answered, is now available. Check it out today at https://t.co/E5FbwG4Cwc
Are you looking for a #kidney donor? If you found yourself with extra time, consider using it to write your kidney story. Our #BigAskBigGive resources can help you start a conversation about living donation.
Transplant surgeries are getting delayed due to #COVID19, and patients have no choice but to continue #dialysis. But that has its own risks – traveling to a #dialysis clinic may expose patients to the virus, says @NKF President @kramer_holly. https://t.co/kqxfLVM8ap
It is with heavy hearts and deep affection that we say goodbye to Dr. John Beamish Dossetor, co-founder of The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Read more about his life and inspiring accomplishments. https://t.co/ltZzL2Bqs7pic.twitter.com/GGCMpLtece
Zach Tremblay and his mother, Jana, were riding high on Saturday as they headed home for the first time in almost three months. (Photo: Jana Tremblay/Facebook)
There was some good kidney news on Saturday as Zach Tremblay and his mother, Jana, headed home to Robson, B.C., after spending almost three months in Vancouver.
Zach, who turned 17 while they were living at Ronald McDonald House, was transitioned from peritoneal dialysis (PD) to hemodialysis while in Vancouver.
Zach had been doing PD at home in Robson, which is across the Columbia River from Castlegar. However, as 2019 wound down there were some issues and his medical team decided that PD was losing its efficiency. So they changed him over to hemo.
Unable to do hemo at home in Robson meant that he would have to travel to Trail and the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital there. However, the unit there wasn’t able to free up room until now. Zach will be travelling three times a week to Trail for hemo, with his first run on Tuesday.
Jana announced their departure via Facebook:
“So this is happening!! Homeward bound with Dad!! Trail is ready for Zach so we are home to stay for now. Thank you all for your love and support over the past few months.
“We appreciate each and everyone of you.”
Now . . . if only we can find a kidney for Zach.
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
GREEN SHIRT DAY HAS MOVED ONLINE! The Kidney Foundation is proud to be a community partner of @GreenShirtDay and will be doing our part to share the message of organ donation and registration. Watch out for an online “sea of green” on April 7 and join in! https://t.co/I4WIeFbvBv
IN THE NEWS! 📰📣 Spallumcheen woman hopeful for kidney donation. Joan Froats waits patiently while undergoing dialysis and living through COVID-19 crisis.https://t.co/5VzL900mkl
Well, he was in Vancouver. But, of course, a lot of places for celebrations in the big city are shut down or takeout only.
Oh, and he also had to spend part of his day doing dialysis.
Zach Tremblay had to interrupt his birthday celebration on Wednesday in order to do a dialysis run. (Photo: Jana Tremblay/Facebook)
But there still was cake and goodies and lots of fun at Ronald McDonald House.
Zach is from Robson, B.C., which is across the Columbia River from Castlegar. He and his mother, Jana, have been in Vancouver since early in January. He spent some time in B.C. Children’s Hospital, where they transitioned him from peritoneal dialysis (PD) to hemodialysis.
Now that he’s on hemo, he won’t be able to do dialysis at home, something he did while he was doing PD.
The reason he and his mother haven’t been able to return home is that Zach will have to travel to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail to do hemo, but . . .
“We were told Trail doesn’t accept patients who are not 17 years old plus a day,” Jana told Gord McIntyre of Postmedia in February. “Zach turns 17 on March 18.”
The dialysis unit in Trail has eight chairs and there apparently have been discussions about adding a ninth, which would ease some of the load there.
Of course, in a perfect world, Zach would have gotten word on his birthday that a donor had been found. As it is, we still wake up every day hoping that a match has been discovered.
In the meantime, Zach and Jana remain in Vancouver. But, as Jana points out, considering the situation in which we find ourselves these days that may not be a bad thing.
“We are thinking he’s safer here for now where he is still child priority,” she told me. “Going home means doing dialysis in a unit of older people mostly and it’s not the safest place for him to be. Here he gets good dialysis and is near a children’s hospital as this virus spreads.”
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
IN THE NEWS! 📰📣 'Favourite' school bus driver gets kidney donation from former passenger. After waiting almost two years since learning they were a perfect match, Natalie Woods will donate one of her kidneys to her former school bus driver, Pat Jepson.https://t.co/tZYk5rRH17
— Kidney Foundation, BC & Yukon Branch (@KidneyBCY) March 18, 2020
IN THE NEWS! 📰📣 3 couples donate kidneys to each other in miracle match. The six surgeries took place in January in side-by-side operating rooms at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, California.https://t.co/ha2Z36t2L9
— Kidney Foundation, BC & Yukon Branch (@KidneyBCY) March 19, 2020
Eight days after being the donor and recipient of a kidney transplant at Vancouver General Hospital, Michael Teigen and Stephen Gillis appeared on CTV Morning Live on Wednesday.
Gillis, the recipient, and Teigen both are doing well and are walking billboards for the entire process.
The conversation — and this is really good stuff — is right here.
The Children’s Organ Transplant Society issued this release on Tuesday:
“We have been receiving a lovely number of messages asking about how to be tested as a living kidney donor for Zach Tremblay. Thank you to our community for spreading the word! However, as a charity we cannot provide confidential medical information about Zach’s history or present condition, as well as any other transplant children. Please know that we would love to direct you to the right place, but cannot answer questions about Zach’s personal health. If you would like to apply for living donation, please contact St. Paul’s Living Donor Program.”
So here’s the deal . . .
You don’t have to be a match to Zach if you are interested in helping him. If you aren’t a match, you are able to help him through the Living Donor Program. If you were deemed to be an eligible donor via that program, you would donate a kidney to someone else, quite likely a stranger, but on the condition that Zach got a kidney.
That is exactly how my wife, Dorothy, received a kidney more than six years ago. Her best friend donated a kidney through the Living Donor Program at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. That kidney went to a stranger, while Dorothy received a kidney from another stranger.
So remember . . . you don’t have to be a match in order to help Zach, a 16-year-old from Robson, B.C., who has been in Vancouver since early January. He has transitioned from peritoneal dialysis to hemp-dialysis, but won’t be going home until there is room for him in the dialysis unit at the hospital in Trail.
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
While Dave Ayres was becoming a Hockey Night in Canada legend on Saturday night, the WHL’s Everett Silvertips were introducing us to Marcus Pearson.
Marcus, 7, has kidney disease and has been on dialysis for six years. The Silvertips played host to Star Wars Night on Saturday night and Marcus took part in the ceremonial faceoff.
Take two minutes out of your day and watch the video that is embedded in the tweet below.
Tonight: we'll be joined by Marcus Pearson, 7, a special guest for the pre-game ceremonial puck drop.
It’s awesome to see the Silvertips take Marcus out onto the ice during a practice and include him in a team photo. When asked to name his favourite team, I’ll let you guess just how he replied.
Ace photographer Chris Mast has photos of Marcus and more from Saturday’s game right here.
Stephen Gillis had a kidney transplant on Tuesday at Vancouver General Hospital, with good friend Michael Teigen the other half of the experience.
On Saturday, Gillis, who coaches a minor hockey team in Vancouver, was released from hospital.
On Sunday, Gillis was back with his team, joining his Atom A1 team at Britannia Community Centre.
Later, Gillis wrote on Facebook:
“Leadership is by example, and despite pain, I wanted to show them the importance of finding purpose in your struggle and that with a strong mind you can get through anything. Other people’s limits do not dictate your limits.”
Emad Agahi of CTV Vancouver was on hand for the occasion and his story is right here.
Gillis also wrote:
“Sign up today to become an organ donor and save up to 8 lives. It takes 30 seconds and will truly help people at a later date when you are no longer in need.”
Teigen was released from hospital earlier in the week and Gillis has said he is doing well.
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
TAKING NOTE 