François's Transplant

My husband, François Bergevin, loved woodworking, making furniture, outdoor photography, and being outdoors. In 2011 he developed  Familiar Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, meaning there is no exact cause but it is prevalant in his family. Only two years after the death of his father from Pulmonary Fibrosis. We had just moved to a fly in community in northern Yukon where I was working as a Registered Nurse. François would eventually take a job at the local airport as as weather reporter and airtraffic controller. Pulmonary Fibrosis has no medical treatment. Life expectancy is 3-5 years and a lung transplant is the only possible treatment.
At first he didn't believe he would want a transplant, but as he had more pnuemonias and breathing became more difficult, plus many trips to Vancouver BC to meet the transplant doctors, he decided he wanted to get a transplant. Vancouver would be impossible for us. 

In 2013 we moved back to Bath to get into the Toronto General Transplant Program which is one of the best transplant program in the world. It took a couple years and in the meantime François became very weak and short of breath, requiring oxygen constantly after many lung infections last winter. On  September 1, 2015 he was added to the transplant list. We would be able to stay at home, in Bath until he had his surgery but needed to be in at Toronto three times a week for physio and clinic appointments. His weakend condition made it too difficult on him to drive back and forth so we often would stay in a hotel for a couple nights, so he had the engery to excerise. As a result, as his wife I needed to be with him and my work as a Registered Nurse in homecare became secondary. On November 1, 2015 we won the lung transplant lottery, and François received a double lung transplant which was a  13 hour surgery. It's been a month and he has had a few set backs, treated for rejection and two infections, he is still in ICU on a ventilator at night to help him breath.  We have had to relocate to Toronto for next few months. Orginally I hoped relocation would be only for a  couple months but now it will be longer. Living away from our home and having to rent an furnished apartment in Toronto is taking a toll on our savings.  All money raised will go to rent and costs assumed while François recovers in Toronto, as I am unable to work while we are here.  We both thank you for any support you can give...