Organ donation: The ultimate gift

Heather e-mails me four times over the next two days with updates about Barbel's status and to arrange a visit ("This is very exciting!" she writes). We are told she will be ready to see us on the second day after her transplant.

As it happens, Heather has taken the day off work, so she and I go up to the Stepdown Unit, where patients are closely monitored during the first few days after transplant.

Getting back to normal
When we find Barbel, she is swaddled in blankets on a raised bed, looking small but alert and smiling. There is always a 1:1 ratio of nurses to patients in this ward, so a nurse sits at a desk outside her glassed-in room. In spite of the cables, IV lines, pumps and other equipment surrounding her, Barbel looks undeniably healthy. Her eyes are no longer red, her complexion has colour, and her breathing is normal. It is surprising how different she looks, and it dawns on me — I have never seen her well before.

"You look great!" says Heather, eyeing the readout on her cardiac monitor. "It's great having blood pressure, eh?"

"Heather," Barbel says. "You've been a godsend."

Today, after we see Barbel, Heather is attending a mentor training session at Toronto General. She has mentored almost 100 people over the years, mostly women and young people, since mentees are matched from things they have in common such as organ type, sex and age.

Dec. 6, 2006
Heather invites Barbel and me to attend the annual Christmas party that heart transplant patients organize for themselves at the hospital. I run into Barbel and her daughter by the elevator on the way in. It's been only two weeks since she was released from hospital, but she is slowly building her strength, and her recovery has been remarkable. Walking up her stairs at home isn't a problem anymore, and she and her husband even attended a concert a week earlier.

Although it's held in a plain, windowless conference room, the party is loud and lively. About 60 people attend: family members, doctors, social workers and heart transplant recipients. Since they will always be "patients for life," many of them have gotten to know one another from clinic visits and the mentor program. Heather seems to know everyone, and her laughter can be heard above the general commotion. "Everyone I've met so far has been mentored by Heather," Barbel says admiringly.

Back on their feet
Many people have remarkable stories about what they've been able to do because of their transplants. One woman has taken up ballroom dancing. A 32-year-old passes around a framed ultrasound photo — he and his wife are expecting their first child.

At one point, the 28 recipients are asked to share their stories. It's a diverse group of people of all ages, sexes and ethnicities. When it's Barbel's turn, she stands up proudly, taking her place among them. "I'm doing so well," she tells everybody. "Couldn't be better."

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