Matters of the Heart
Donation protected
In early September, my dad was admitted to the General Hospital in Regina for chest pain, before being diagnosed with failure of the heart, lungs, and kidneys. He spent 2 weeks there in the CCU, becoming more and more ill, until a doctor decided that they could not provide the care that he required.
On Saturday, September 26th, with 2 hours' notice, I flew with him to Edmonton by air ambulance. He was admitted to the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. Suddenly, words like "transplant" and "implant" became part of our regular vocabulary. After being here for about 2 weeks, we suddenly found out that he would be undergoing open heart surgery the next day. On October 9th, they implanted a Left Ventricular Assist Device, also known as LVAD or simply VAD, into his heart, as his is no longer strong enough to pump on its own. This was to be followed by a minimum of 25 days in hospital to recover and rehabilitate, and then 3 more months living in Edmonton with regular appointments, checkups, and bloodwork. I would be staying the entire time with him as a medically necessary support person. Neither of us had any idea that we would have to be away from home for so long. We would be missing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with our loved ones.
This has been a particularly difficult time, even considering the year we have all had. Both my dad and I have had to leave our homes, yet we still have bills piling up. I had to leave my new job after already not being able to work for most of the year due to Covid. Above all of that, we still have to pay for accommodations and food in a brand new city where we don't know anyone. When all is said and done, we will have been here for almost 5 months, and even after finding the most reasonably-priced yet accessible Airbnb's, our unexpected expenses will have added up to over $10,000.
I know that this year hasn't been easy on anyone, so it's hard to ask for help. But we really need it. If you have nothing to spare, we of course understand, and ask that you share this instead.
On Saturday, September 26th, with 2 hours' notice, I flew with him to Edmonton by air ambulance. He was admitted to the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. Suddenly, words like "transplant" and "implant" became part of our regular vocabulary. After being here for about 2 weeks, we suddenly found out that he would be undergoing open heart surgery the next day. On October 9th, they implanted a Left Ventricular Assist Device, also known as LVAD or simply VAD, into his heart, as his is no longer strong enough to pump on its own. This was to be followed by a minimum of 25 days in hospital to recover and rehabilitate, and then 3 more months living in Edmonton with regular appointments, checkups, and bloodwork. I would be staying the entire time with him as a medically necessary support person. Neither of us had any idea that we would have to be away from home for so long. We would be missing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with our loved ones.
This has been a particularly difficult time, even considering the year we have all had. Both my dad and I have had to leave our homes, yet we still have bills piling up. I had to leave my new job after already not being able to work for most of the year due to Covid. Above all of that, we still have to pay for accommodations and food in a brand new city where we don't know anyone. When all is said and done, we will have been here for almost 5 months, and even after finding the most reasonably-priced yet accessible Airbnb's, our unexpected expenses will have added up to over $10,000.
I know that this year hasn't been easy on anyone, so it's hard to ask for help. But we really need it. If you have nothing to spare, we of course understand, and ask that you share this instead.
Fundraising team (3)
Kira Reiss
Organizer
Raised $2,055 from 20 donations
Regina, SK
Daniel Reiss
Beneficiary
Alina Ferguson
Team member
Raised $25 from 1 donation
Sophie Pitman
Team member
Raised $25 from 1 donation
This team raised $3,050 from 24 other donations.
