Each year, hundreds of Canadians die waiting for an organ transplant. These deaths are preventable, as only one in five Canadians has registered their decision to donate.
From the time she was born, Joanne Rose has been battling an inherited disorder that has impacted the health of her kidneys.
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a congenital illness in which clusters of cysts develop primarily within the kidneys, causing them to enlarge and lose function over time. For Rose, she didn’t know she had the illness, or that her kidneys were losing function until 1980, at the age of 21.
Jaimie Harbin Keeping was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just one day old. By 23, she was a rock climber, runner, research scientist and world-traveler.
As a general, colorectal surgeon and intensive care unit (ICU) physician at the Valley Regional Hospital (VRH) in Kentville, Dr. Paul Yaffe works with patients and families everyday whose lives have been impacted by serious and sometimes sudden illness.
Tammy Ripley spent 90 days on the transplant wait list. She remembers every detail from the day she found out she would be receiving a heart transplant, right up until the moment she came out of surgery.
Her Last Project, a film that chronicles a remarkable woman’s end-of-life journey, premieres on Friday, Sept. 13 as part of the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival’s documentary program. This extraordinary documentary follows Dr. Shelly Sarwal’s story of taking control of her destiny and leaving a lasting legacy. Diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy, an incurable disease, Dr. Shelly Sarwal chose to end her life through medical assistance in dying (MAiD) and to become an organ and tissue donor.
A lot can change in 17 years.
In 2002, Chris Fraser was a bank teller with no medical background or training. Now, he’s a registered nurse (RN) and health services manager on the intermediate Medical/Surgical Intermediate Care Unit (MSIMCU) of the Halifax Infirmary (HI).
