Victoria organ transplant recipients Steve Farmer and Faye White toured the Royal Jubilee Hospital on Wednesday to hand out snacks to nurses and doctors.
This was part of an initiative organized by BC Transplant called Operation Popcorn, which gives transplant recipients a chance to thank the health-care professionals who help make organ transplantation a reality.
“Even though transplants are all done in Vancouver, we come to the other hospitals because there's a lot of post- and pre-treatment,” said Farmer, who was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease 20 years ago. “I've had nothing but great care all the way through.”
The pair arrived at the hospital early with a cart stacked high with massive, bright-red boxes, each of which was filled to the brim with caramel popcorn. Over the next two hours, they handed out the neatly wrapped gifts to dozens of thankful nurses and doctors.
Eighty others participated in similar Operation Popcorn initiatives across the province on Wednesday.
Farmer’s daughter Kelsey, who was eight when her dad underwent his transplant surgery, also toured the hospital.
“The scariest day of my life was the first time my dad went into a coma when he was really sick," she said. "He went into a coma five times while he was waiting for his transplant."
The now 28-year-old recounted the time she and her older sister found Farmer unconscious.
"We woke up and dad was comatose in the bathroom, which is pretty scary for an eight-year-old," she said. “Thankfully, everything went well with the transplant, and we’ve had 20 years to make up for all those scary things."
White, who was all smiles as she marched from one hospital unit to another, received a new kidney 18 years ago.
“All we hear about are bad things about the health-care system and this is a good news story," she said. "I can't say that there's one thing that has not gone well."
The health-care professionals appreciated the transplant recipients' gifts, many of whom expressed how nice it was to interact with people who benefit from their life-saving services.
“I'm really grateful to see the other side of it,” said William Owens-Krahn, Island Health's surgical services coordinator. “We often retrieved organs, but we never saw transplanted organs. I didn't have that opportunity to see this, and this really brings it home and makes it feel that much more special.”
BC Transplant’s executive director Eric Lun expressed a similar sentiment.
“Health-care teams on the organ donation side often have limited contact with transplant recipients, and those who work with transplant recipients don’t usually interact with organ donors and donor families,” he said. “When they meet our volunteers at the Operation Popcorn deliveries, it is a powerful affirmation of the power of the gift of life.”
To find out more information about BC Transplant, visit: transplant.bc.ca.
