3 minute read
One for the Team
NHL hockey mom donates kidney to long-time friend
by Heidi Westfield
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Below: Graham with his wife Pam and two grandchildren (Callum and Addisyn) and Bonnie at the local ice rink. Graham installed a special thank you message at centre ice in honour of Bonnie Below right: Bonnie and Graham in hospital B efore his transplant, it was a struggle for Graham Nesbitt to do everyday tasks. He felt weak and didn’t have much endurance. Even walking his son’s dog was a challenge that would leave him out of breath: “I would have to get the dog to drag me back,” he recalls.
Now, a year after receiving a kidney from his friend Bonnie O’Reilly, his health has improved dramatically.
“I feel terrific,” the retired hockey arena manager says. “It has given life back to me, it is just incredible. Now I can outwalk the dog!”
Graham was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy more than a decade ago and learned he would need a kidney transplant in 2019. Once word got out in his small Ontario community, a number of people volunteered to be donors, including Bonnie.
The two have known each other for decades. Graham would open the local arena before school started, so Bonnie’s children and other neighbourhood kids could have some extra ice time. He would do the same on “snow days” when school was closed. Those sessions at the rink helped Bonnie’s sons develop as players, which proved to be a start-
ing point for their careers in hockey.
Her son Ryan O’Reilly is the captain of the St. Louis Blues in the NHL, and her son Cal plays for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the American Hockey League.
Bonnie says she didn’t know much about kidney disease at first, so she did some research on kidney transplants and donor outcomes. She realized that because she had no medical problems she might be a suitable candidate even though she was coming up to 60 years old.
“I was in pretty good health and wanted to help Graham if I could,” Bonnie says. “He helped my kids without asking for anything back and I had an opportunity to return the favour. So, I threw my hat in the ring.”
Graham had other potential donors, so at first it looked like Bonnie’s offer would not be necessary. But those donors fell through. Doctors then turned to Bonnie. She was a match, and the kidney transplant took place in March, 2021. Bonnie remembers chatting with Graham as they lay side-by-side on hospital beds before going in for surgery.
“I wasn’t scared. In fact I was kind of excited,” Bonnie remembers. “I wasn’t frightened of the process. The hospital was remarkable, and everybody was very positive and professional. I knew I was in good hands.”
The transplant was a success. Today Bonnie is back to the health she enjoyed before surgery, playing pickle ball, basketball and running. As for Graham, he is incredibly grateful for this gift of life from his long-time friend.
“A kidney donation has brought life back to me and my family. It has given me a second chance. I look at it as a miracle. To have Bonnie be the perfect donor, I am a blessed guy.”
Register your wishes to be an organ donor and talk to your family about your wishes. Visit www.beadonor.ca/ kidneyfoundationofcanada
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