Troy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. tarting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our sense of community. Watch for their reports on Troy Media. More information on the cycling tour is available at ConnecTour.ca. To help them meet their goal, click here.
The call came out of the blue on a Tuesday afternoon. Our son-in-law, Dax, learned there was a liver available and he was told to come to Vancouver General Hospital immediately.
Within 36 hours, the liver was declared a match and, just like that, Dax was undergoing the 10-hour surgery. This was thanks to someone who had taken the time and thought to be an organ donor.
The average wait for a liver transplant in Canada is 287 days. Dax was one of the lucky ones – his wait was just a few weeks.
Doug and I want to thank everyone who expressed support for Dax, and especially those who donated cash to help offset expenses for Dax and Lauren. The display of support has been truly overwhelming and gratifying.
We’re continuing our ConnecTour ride across Canada and we’re still riding for Dax. He has many long and potentially difficult days ahead as he recovers from this major surgery.
We’re riding for him and for the cause of organ donation. Not everyone who needs an organ transplant will be as lucky as Dax was.
Some will never get the organ donation that could save their lives. But if you sign that card, you could save the life of someone as important to you as Dax is to us.
Travel Like This editor Lisa Monforton is an award-winning Calgary-based travel writer. Follow @lisamonforton on Instagram and Twitter.
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the authors’ alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.
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