Bruce's Road to Recovery 

Late in the evening on August 22nd, our Dad finally got the call that they had a donor for him!! BCEHS picked him up a few hours after the much-anticipated phone call and took him first to Kelowna, to then be flown to Vancouver. His surgery, which was a bi-lateral lung transplant (double lung), was completed late in the evening of August 23rd - this was exactly one year to the day that Mom retired and a weird coincidence since she retired so that when Dad got the call for the transplant, she would be able to go down to Vancouver during his recovery. When Mom talked to Dad before surgery, he was positive but exhausted from the travel to get to VGH. While Dad's recovery will be a lifelong process, the next three weeks in the hospital and 3+ months of living in Vancouver are crucial.

Our Dad has struggled for the last ten years with severe COPD. It has been challenging, and this disease has been a battle. COPD turns simple daily tasks into giant obstacles, and the unconscious act of breathing becomes a focused, concerted effort that is exhausting physically and mentally. Anyone who knows our wonderful parents knows that they are extremely hardworking, selfless people who are the last to ask for help, but with all the expenses they will be facing post-surgery, we felt the need to reach out for them. Whether it is a donation or just keeping our Dad/family in your thoughts & sending him positive healing vibes - we appreciate it ALL! We can’t wait to see him get stronger on his road to recovery and have him home in a couple of months!

We have set the fundraising goal of ten thousand dollars to help cover post-surgery costs. The majority of the funds will be allocated to housing close to Vancouver Hospital as Dad will need to be at the hospital very frequently for blood panels and physiotherapy. The Airbnb rental is specifically for housing patients next door to VGH and will cost approximately $3000.00 per month, and the rest will be for general living and travel expenses for our parents. This is on top of other bills back in Castlegar. We know that these are tough financial times for many of you during this pandemic, but every bit helps. Our goal is to bring them back home without a substantial financial strain.

Lastly, organ donation brings our family immense happiness and hopefulness, but we know it leaves a family in grief and sorrow. If you are unable to help by making a monetary donation, please consider becoming an organ donor, as this can have a huge impact on the life of another family, as it has for ours.
http://www.transplant.bc.ca/


Thanks so much
Madi, Braden, Carling and Allie