Find Out How to Save a Life

When Pam and Wayne Tennant took their daughter, Stephanie, to her normal doctor's checkup at six weeks old, they never envisioned the journey they were about to embark on. No one could have.

After a battery of tests, ruling out every possible problem, the doctors came back with the verdict. Imagine . . . being told that your precious, happy, bouncing baby girl has a rare liver disease-"her only hope of survival," a liver transplant.

Pam and Wayne's world stopped instantly. Their only focus: to get their baby healthy again. "I remember those days so vividly," recalls Pam. "For months, while we anxiously waited for the phone to ring, to say there was a donor, Stephanie endured test after test, was poked and prodded, but she still managed to grin at everyone."

There was no denying she was extremely ill-behind those laughing eyes, the whites of her eyes were yellow, tinged with green. I knew she needed help, but there was nothing we could do but wait and pray. And the wait was agonizing. When Stephanie was nine and a half months old, they finally received the phone call. Within hours, Stephanie was in the operating room.

Her fate changed because of the generous donation of a stranger.

The operation was successful. "When we saw her after the surgery, the first thing we noticed were these huge blue eyes surrounded with startling white. It was beautiful. I couldn't stop crying. Within two weeks, she was sitting up and smiling, and life has been wonderful every day since."

As Stephanie recovered, the doctor's told Pam and Wayne how grim Steph's future had really been. "They told us, before the surgery, she only had about three weeks left of life in her little body.

Looking at my precocious, soccer-playing child today, I can't imagine life without her, and I thank the donor family every day in my prayers for the difference they made in our world. Because of them, Stephanie was given a second chance at life."

"In November, we celebrated her tenth birthday. It was a day I never thought I'd see. I can't express how wonderful it is to know that there are people who are loving enough to feel so much for another human being that they give this gift. I urge everyone to sit down, talk with your family and sign your organ donor card today. You really can turn tragedy into triumph."

There is a continuing and urgent need for organ donations in Canada. Although public opinion surveys tell us that more than 90 percent of Canadians agree with the principle of organ donation, only a small percentage of organs are ever donated.

At the same time, the demand for transplants continues to increase as they become more and more accepted as treatment for a number health problems. Transplants are now one way of coping with serious illnesses involving the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, eyes, skin, bones and pancreas.

A single organ can save at least seven other people's lives. People who would otherwise face death or severe disability return to a fuller, healthier lifestyle. If all Canadians who support organ donation signed an organ donor card and made sure that their families knew their wishes, enough organs would be donated to meet all the needs.

Sign your organ donor card today (on the back or your Alberta Health Care Card) or call the Hope Program at 283-2243 for more information. For more information on organ donation, call the HOPE program in Calgary at 283-2243.