Our father, Gord, has been accepted to be on the double-lung transplant list due to severe Emphysema caused by Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. As vital as breathing is, it has become a constant struggle for him, and his quality of life continues to diminish. After a lengthy assessment by the Toronto General Hospital Transplant program, he was found to be a suitable candidate for transplant. However, the financial burden that comes with this process is overwhelming, including frequent travel to and from Toronto, temporary relocation, and medication costs. Our mom will need to take a 3-month leave of absence from work to support him during his recovery in Toronto. We want to ensure that they can focus on the surgery and recovery without worrying about finances.

Here is a little bit about our dad’s journey leading up to and hopefully to receiving this double lung transplant.

If you know our dad, you may be a bit surprised by the fact that he needs a double lung transplant due to Emphysema (COPD). After years of wondering why his lungs were so fragile and susceptible to infection, doctors discovered he has a rare condition called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

His emphysema was first diagnosed around 15 years ago. Since then, Dad has undergone countless treatments to help with his breathing and to keep his oxygen up to safe levels. Over the years he has experienced long hospital stays, inpatient rehabilitation programs and of course medication and inhaler therapies.

Unfortunately, Alpha-1 is a degenerative disease, and his symptoms will continue to worsen.

Over the next days and months leading up to the surgery, one of us will accompany him every month back and forth to Toronto for more testing, assessments and physiotherapy appointments. The UHN Transplant Program requires that a support person always is with him during his regular visits to Toronto. The additional expenses, such as train/flight tickets, gas, food, taxis, hotels and of course incidentals can all add up quickly.

Following the transplant process, our dad will be in the intensive care unit until he is capable of being moved to a rehabilitation ward. Our mother will be taking a leave of absence from work to help Dad with his recovery process. During this time our parents will have to relocate to Toronto and secure accommodations for three-plus months following the surgery for rehabilitation while still maintaining their home in Ottawa.

The financial burden that comes with having a double lung transplant can become overwhelming very quickly.

We are using this platform to reach out for help to keep our mom and dad together during this challenging time. We want our parents to focus on the surgery and recovery without financial concerns and would like to provide as much help as we can to make this journey as smooth as possible.

We wanted to add that we are so incredibly grateful for the selfless act of organ donation that has made this possible for dad. The generosity and compassion has given our father the chance at a better life. Our thoughts and hearts are with the donors family during this time, without them this would not at all be possible.

We will be documenting our dad’s journey. If you would like to keep posted on Gord’s surgery and progress, stay tuned.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and support Gord and Dawn. Any contribution, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE 1 !

We would like to take a moment to update everyone and express our deepest gratitude to every single person who has reached out to our family during this incredibly difficult week. Your kind words and gestures of support have been a source of comfort and strength for us during a time when we needed it most.

This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions for our entire family. On Sunday at 7:45 pm, we received the call that a lung donor had been found for our dad. Although we had hoped to be more prepared for this moment, fate had other plans. We quickly made our way to Toronto and at 9 am the next morning, our dad underwent surgery. While the surgery to replace his lungs went as planned, there was an unexpected complication. His aorta tore during the procedure. Thanks to the skilled heart surgeons here at the toronto general hospital, the tear was repaired, and after 12 long hours in surgery, our dad was moved to the ICU to begin his journey towards recovery.

Over the next two excruciatingly long days, we anxiously waited for any sign of improvement. Finally, our dad responded by squeezing our hands and opening his eyes he even mouthed the words "I love you so much" to mom. It was a small but significant step forward on his long road to recovery. We are taking things One day at a time.

Once again, we cannot express enough how grateful we are for the outpouring of love and support that we have received. Your kindness has touched our hearts and made this difficult time a little bit easier to bear.

We will continue to update with dad's progress. He's got this! Go dad go!

UPDATE 2! May 9th 2023.

We wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude towards everyone. The outpoure of love and support surrounding our family and especially our parents Gord and Dawn has been truly amazing to see.

It has now been 15 days since dad's surgery. We are still waiting patiently for dad to wake up fully. He opened his eyes and communicated in the first few days after surgery but has since been resting. Dad's doctors assure us his new lungs are healing and working effectively with each passing day, despite a recent infection that is being monitored and treated with antibiotics. With sedation he has been sleeping most days to help regulate his heart rate. On day nine with his breathing tube, dads medical team made the decision to perform a tracheostomy, and day 14 his kidneys were not improving as much as the doctors had hoped so they made the decision to start dad on dialysis. We trust these are the right steps forward and have full faith in his medical team, we are so grateful for their dedication and care for dad. Althought dads recovery is progressing slowly, he is progressing steadily.

Mom wanted to add that she plans to reach out to those who have been sending her positive messages. Although she wishes she could reach out to everyone now she is just waiting for things to settle with dad's recovery. She feels so loved and appreciates all of the support more than she could ever express in words.

We will continue to update with dad's recovery progress in the coming days.

Much Love,

Kelly, Tara & Jenny and Dawn