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Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Match made in Duncan gives man life back TRANSPLANTIVERSARY: Kidney success story LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN
Chemainus firefighers douse a blaze in a garage off Chemainus Road on Sunday night. [KEVIN ROTHBAUER/CITIZEN]
Family loses garage, workshop in blaze KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN
No one was hurt, but a Chemainus family lost their garage and workshop after flames erupted on Sunday night. “There were no injuries, and we’re insured,” homeowner Brenda Allester confirmed. “Everybody is fine.” Allester and her husband were both home at the Chemainus Road residence at the time.
The Chemainus fire department was paged out just after 9 p.m. on Sunday, and found the detached building engulfed. “When I pulled up it was a fully involved garage structure,” Deputy Fire Chief Al Irwin said. “We put a lot of water on it and made it go away.” Firefighters had to break down walls and doors to get access to the flames, which were largely confined to the inside of the gar-
age. There were some concerns about tanks of oxyacetylene and propane both outside and inside. Irwin said they had already started to pop off when he arrived. The Chemainus fire department had 16 members on the scene for just over three hours. The Crofton department was called out for mutual aid, and did some traffic control. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
Mat Lennox and Jesyka Clarkson have forged a bond few people will ever experience. Learning on Facebook that Lennox needed a new kidney, Clarkson donated one of her kidneys to him last February. He’s got his life back and she’s gained a new family in the nearly two years since they first met in Tim Hortons in Duncan. They celebrated completion of their first post-surgery year in February with a kidneyshaped cake, baked by Mat’s girlfriend, Candace Hallet, and her mother. “We call it our transplantiversary,” laughed Clarkson as she and Lennox chatted Tuesday about their experience since they met over a kidney. They were complete strangers before she saw his story online. “When I found out about him, his picture caught my eye. He had this goofy face in it. I felt sorry for him. He was so young. I didn’t realize people had to go through dialysis like that and were unable to work,” she said. “I had a pretty high-stress lifestyle prior to my surgery and as
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it wound down towards Feb. 18 I realized that you always have to, in situations like that, face the possibility that you won’t wake up.” Even getting to that point meant a lot of pre-screening. Everyone was delighted as Clarkson passed hurdle after hurdle. “They want to make sure you can handle the aftermath if something like rejection happens. Do you have support? Are you physically healthy as well as mentally healthy? It’s not just as easy as going and signing up,” she said. Finally, they went to Vancouver for their surgeries. Clarkson had her kidney taken out first and then the doctors waited, wanting to make sure she was okay before starting the transplant into Lennox. Since then, it’s been a question of steady monitoring for both of them, although both looked the picture of health when they sat down with the Citizen. “I go to the doctor about every six weeks. I probably will the rest of my life,” Lennox said. Clarkson said she’s learned a See LENNOX, Page 3