Saturday was “a perfect day for a trail ride,” 2nd Chance Trail Ride organizing committee members Lionel Romanchuk and Robyn Ockerman agreed as they welcomed a capacity crowd to Heinsburg Community Hall on Saturday evening at the conclusion of the afternoon’s trek down the Iron Horse Trail from Lindbergh to Heinsburg.
A new record of 318 riders took part, either on horseback or in wagons and other horse-drawn conveyances, and Ockerman, granddaughter of the ride’s founder, Morris Irvine, said she was “so proud of what our organization has done.”
Irvine was the first of a lineup of transplant recipients to come on stage to share his story. After years of battling respiratory illnesses and suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Irvine learned that to survive, he must have a double lung transplant. On March 13, 2011, he received the “best gift ever, a double lung transplant. Because of one person who made a decision to sign a donor card, we all had a happy ending. The 2nd Chance wants to change more people’s lives,” he said, and to this point the organization has done this by raising organ donation awareness through signage, and assisting those going through the transplant process by mentoring, donating gas and grocery cards and funding subsidized accommodation for transplant patients.
Tom Matthews of St. Paul has had his new lungs two years longer, since July 11, 2009, and mentored Irvine at the time of his transplant. In the years that followed, Irvine has passed on his horsemanship knowledge to Matthews, who was proud to report that he had driven one of the teams for three-quarters of this year’s ride. After Irvine’s transplant, “when Moe and Lionel called me to suggest holding a trail ride to raise funds and awareness, I thought it was a wonderful idea. I’ve always thought of him as the guiding light of this venture and his wife Fae as the wise owl who helped make decisions.” He presented the Irvines with an angel figurine holding a light aloft and with a lantern for their collection.
The two were joined on stage by July 2011 double lung recipient and former Heinsburg area resident Harvey Nelson, Gary Heffner, who received a transplant in December 2013, Reg Smith, who received transplant kidneys in 2005 and is now on the list again after those kidneys also failed, 2004 kidney recipient Gail Dustow, 2002 recipient Donna Krilow-Lorenz, 2011 recipient Greg Hnatyk and 2011 stem cell recipient Beth Yushyshyn. Judy Lawes and Diane Brown, both of whom received lifesaving transplants in 2011, were unable to be in attendance this year.
Coral and Remi Tremblay, the parents of organ donor Dawn Tremblay, who perished following a vehicle crash 20 years ago, were also on hand for the event, and had a sign-up sheet for those wishing to pre-order a book written by the recipient of Dawn’s heart, Kristy Thackeray. Her incredible story is told in “My Life, Someone Else’s Heart,” which will be published later this year.
Pastor Sam Donaldson was a special guest at the event and offered a prayer, following a moment of silence, for all the organ donors and their families.
Lorenz returned to the stage to tell her story, which began in 1989 when tests prescribed by her doctor at a regular checkup determined that she had polycystic kidney disease. Annual appointments were scheduled and it was not until more than a decade later, after the single mom had “met a wonderful man” and was about to get married, when “all hell broke loose. I learned I should have been on dialysis for some time.” Blessed with four siblings who were willing to have their kidneys tested as transplant possibilities, she traveled from Lloydminster to Saskatoon twice a week for dialysis. Tests on the sibling who was the closest match also showed kidney issues, a result that was later determined to have come from a mix-up in test findings. All went well with a second round of tests and surgery was slated for November. Lorenz was home with her family for Christmas. She still travels to Saskatoon every two months for checkups and takes 25 pills a day, but says she is “living proof that transplants work.” Never a competitive athlete, she took part in the 2012 Transplant Games and brought home medals. At that event, she saw children as young as four competing and this spurred her on to become the regional coordinator in Lloydminster of a group that promotes the need for transplant organs.
Also part of the program was University of Alberta Hospital nurse Cheryl Salvador, who said transplant patients were “very close to my heart. We did 61 lung transplants last year, with a marathon of 31 transplants in 10 days at one point. Donors’ families are angels.”
Rebekah Salayka told her story as a living donor of a kidney to her originally reluctant cousin, and said it was “a very long process but with pretty remarkable results.”
Matthews said that in the last three weeks, there have been three lung, one liver and kidney transplants at the U of A, all made possible by supportive families of donors. The donor of his own lungs, he said, “is the greatest hero in my life.”
With the 113-item silent auction still ongoing, auctioneer Pat Lawrence called for bids in the live auction of 15 additional items, ranging from Brett Kissel concert tickets to an autographed Tim McGraw guitar to handmade quilts, which added up to a total of $13,625, with a three night stay in a mountain lodge, including helicopter transportation going for the highest bid of $3,500. A roping saddle, complete with stand, pad and bridle went for $3,250 and a moose horn carving by local artist Ernie Poitras went for $1,600.
Dancing to a country band completed the most enjoyable evening.