For Montrealer Linda Paradis, each breath of air is something to be grateful for.
Months ago, she was on oxygen 24 hours a day as she awaited a lung transplant due to a condition called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
“I was feeling like I was dying,” she said. “Every day was tougher and tougher.”
While a donor was found, she struggled with the emotions that come from living when somebody else has not.
“I had a lot of crying thinking of my donor,” she said. “You know, thinking that ther eis a family that is presently suffering a whole deal.”
Before her surgery, Paradis had issues a plea to Quebecers to sign their organ donor cards and talk to their families about organ donation. It’s a mission she has vowed to carry on as her recovery continues.
“You know when they say organ donation can give life, that’s what I experienced,” she said.
She tearfully recalls waking up in the hospital, her daughter at her side. She remembers thinking “I witnessed your first breath, it’s your turn to witness my first breath.”
While organ donations are anonymous, Transplant Quebec did pass on a note from Paradis to the donor’s family, allowing her to express her gratitude.
“How grateful I was, to be able to live and… through their pain, if it could help put a little band-aid on that suffering,” she said. “The lungs I was given, I will take care of them.”
Transplant Quebec spokesperson Dr. Jean-Francois Lize said that the number of organ donors in the province has gone up, partially due to new education efforts for medical staff.
“(We) let them know that organ donation is something we can do when we think that there is no hope,” said Lize. “The patient is going to die, but we can create hope for another patient.”
Lize urged Quebecers to talk to their families about what they wish to do with their organs after their passing. He said that while it’s a difficult conversation to have, “You are also talking about hope and what’s going to happen next and you’re also talking about helping other people.”
