Brenda Brown says her life was transformed when she received her new kidney.
鈥淚 was so sick, I was close to death three times,鈥� Brown said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing, being able to live an active life again.鈥�
Brown, an Abbotsford resident who is the newly elected head of the Canadian Transplant Association, was visiting 91原创 Memorial Hospital on Tuesday for BC Transplant鈥檚 27th annual Operation Popcorn, a provincial campaign to thank health care professionals with gifts of gourmet popcorn and to raise awareness about organ donation.
鈥淭hey deserve so much more than than the popcorn we鈥檙e giving them,鈥� Brown said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to come back [and have them] see some of us on the better side of this, not when we鈥檙e going through the suffering and the pain.鈥�
The visit to LMH was led by retired 91原创 Township councilor Charlie Fox and his wife Diane, who donated a kidney to her husband.
鈥淭his January, it鈥檚 10 years,鈥� Diane Fox said.
鈥淚鈥檓 just thrilled. It鈥檚 been 10 amazing years.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big milestone for us,鈥� Charlie Fox said.
鈥淲e get to live a natural way of life.鈥�
Brown marked the fifth anniversary of her transplant in July.
After tests determined her daughter, Kiela Wood, wouldn鈥檛 be a good match, the pair were entered in a kidney paired exchange program that juggles donors to find compatible matches.
Wood ended up donating a kidney to someone in Calgary.
鈥淚鈥檇 still be on dialysis if it wasn鈥檛 for the kidney exchange program,鈥� Brenda Brown said.
READ MORE:
The visitors went to the LMH emergency ward, critical care unit and surgical floor.
