B6 ❙
NOVEMBER 2012 the delta leader
Transplant Games a chance to honour donors He likes keeping active because he knows his health can "You feel very grateful that change in a heartbeat. Six years after receiving that you have a second chance. You want to thank them," says first kidney it began to fail. He was 21 years old and working as Campbell. There is an avenue for ac- a chef in Saskatoon. There were no real alarming knowledgement of organ dosymptoms to Campbell's renal nors. Recipients can write a letter to failure. Feeling tired and slugthe B.C. Transplant Society who gish comes with the territory of will then forward it on to the do- a restaurant industry career. Fortunately he only had to nor family. As well, an annual celebration wait four months this time for a in Vancouver is an opportunity new kidney. The new lease on life inspired for transplantees to give a colCampbell to explore the rest of lective thanks. Campbell has three guard- the country and find a way to ian angels to be grateful for. He pay it forward in the process. He arrived in Vancouver in honours them, while simultaneously promoting organ donation 1995 and began working for awareness, by running his heart Life Line Outreach, a Downtown out and logging 10-pin strikes Vancouver non-profit society during the Canadian Transplant that aids the homeless. Campbell's duties involved Games. Propelled by a healthy set of the pickup and delivery of proorgans, and second chances, duce and clothing. And like many warriors recovparticipants boast strong, posttransplant bodies during the ering from a traumatic illness he multi-sport event held every two found solace in dragon boating. A decade ago he assumed the years. Campbell is one of the vet- role of beat-keeping drummer eran athletes. He's been to four until he found a seat in the boat. Campbell credits his fellow Canadian Games – described as a family reunion of sorts – and paddlers, along with Ladner one World Transplant Games, Christian Fellowship parishioners, for giving him to strength for more serious competitors. Long distance running, bad- to push ahead. His last gominton and bowling are his around with renal failure lasted six years. strong suits. From P3
"The depression was so strong," describes Campbell. Then on Nov. 5, 2010, at 2 p.m. in the afternoon – Campbell remembers the time of each call from the transplant team – came word that his third kidney to date had been harvested. "It's the best kidney I've had. The healthiest I have ever felt," he reports, further revealing that his creatinine levels, which measure kidney function, are in the normal range. Technically, Campbell has four kidneys inside him. His first two, located in the normal position near the middle of his back, were never removed after they failed, as is standard kidney transplant protocol. The other two bean-shaped organs that Campbell received were inverted and inserted at the front near his abdomen. This past July the Tsawwassen resident returned home from the most recent Canadian Transplant Games in Calgary where he medaled in 10-pin bowling, lawn bowling and two badminton events – three silvers and a bronze in all. For a guy who was once bridled by dialysis treatment, these Games are an opportunity for him to see the world. This year it was the Calgary Stampede that he got to experience. He now has his sights set
'I
ran outside in my pyjamas and yelled at the top of my lungs, I got a transplant!' – Don Campbell on the World Transplant Games in South Africa next year. "You try and live a normal life as much as possible," says Campbell, who works in construction and landscaping. Living each day to the full-
est is paramount for Campbell who's been told he won't be allowed to receive any more kidneys. One day he may have to call on his identical twin brother, who lives in Edmonton and who suffers from mild cerebral palsy, as a final resort. "If I was dire straits dying he would give [a kidney] to me," says Campbell, whose brother is 99.9 per cent match. "We were like best friends growing up." That desperation draws focus to the need for more organ donors. There are 375 people in this province currently waiting for a kidney as of June 14, according to B.C. Transplant Society statistics. "All you do is go to the [B.C. Transplant] website and sign yourself up," explains Campbell, of the simplicity of enrolling in the organ donor registry. He speculates that potential donors might be scared or hesitant because they are not informed. Campbell's own sobering statistics speak for themselves: he has lost several friends to organ failure. "It's devastating because you are going through the same thing," he says. For more information on the BC organ donor registry visit www.transplant.bc.ca.
carriers needed
SUBSTITUTE
CARRIERS NEEDED ON ALL ROUTES
ROUTE of the wEEk 629 - 72 St, 76 St,
Brown St, Honeyman St, Hume Ave, Progress Way, Vantage Pl, way, Venture St, Wilson Alley - 242
Tsawwassen 103 4 Ave, 4A Ave, 52 St, Galway Dr, Kilkenny Dr, Milsom Wynd, Tralee Crs 108 3A Ave, 4 Ave, 53 St, 53A St 111 2 Ave, English Bluff Rd, Graham Dr Tsawwassen Beach Rd - 71 112 1 Ave, 1A Ave, 2 Ave, 49 St, English Bluff Rd, Murphy Dr - 63 115 1 Ave, 52A St, Deerfield Crt, Dr, Pl, Wallace Ave - 75 218 1A Av, 66 St, 66A St, 67 St, Centennial Prkwy 306 10A Av, 50 St, 50B St, 8A Ave, Bayview Dr, Kadota Dr, Underhill Dr - 100 314 5 Ave, 6 Ave, Cedar Crs, English Bluff Rd - 80 319 49 St. 7A Ave, 8 A Ave, Dogwood Dr, English, Bluff Crt, Rd, Underhill Dr, Weaver Dr - 66 Ladner 606 44b Ave, 45a Ave, 45a st., 46 st., 46a st., Kelly Dr. - 88 821 57 St, Grove Ave, Ladner Trunk Rd -118 823 50 Ave, 58 St, 58A St, 58B St, Coleman Pl, Grove Ave 825 48A Ave, 48B Ave, 49 Ave, 57 St, 57A S, 58St, 59 St, 59A St - 87 807 Chamberlayne Ave, Way, Ferry Rd, River Rd, Westminster Ave – 88
Call or email the circulation dept. at
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