Darryl Gagnon wants nothing more than to live to meet his future grandkids, and heâs hoping thereâs a hero somewhere out there whoâs willing to help make it happen.
The Semiahmoo Secondary alum, now 48, was put on a transplant list âa couple weeksâ ago, about two years after learning â by sheer chance â that his kidneys were failing.
The news came after Gagnonâs âfourth new doctor in five yearsâ sent him for blood tests as part of a routine checkup. The lab work was something that, for no particular reason beyond the shifting physician coverage, hadnât been requisitioned for some time, he said.
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While the father of four had no reason to suspect anything was amiss â no symptoms whatsoever, in fact â the results showed his kidneysâ filtration levels were âdangerously low.â
âIt was already quite reduced by the time I found out,â Gagnon said Friday (April 29). âIt would have been nice to learn this years ago and maybe I couldâve cut the salt out and drank more water a long time ago.
âIâm not sure how it slipped through the cracks.â
Last week, following word a live donor was his best chance at a long life, Gagnonâs wife Amy posted an appeal on Facebook, describing her husband as someone who âlives for his kids.â
The stay-at-home dad spends months every year planning a game-show themed Christmas morning just to see their eyes light up, and is similarly dedicated to making annual camping trips an experience to remember, recently organizing a Big Brother-style adventure.
He âneeds a longer life to watch his kids graduate high school, get married, and have what he canât wait forâŠ,â the Facebook post states.
âWe canât live without him,â Amy told Peace Arch News. âHe just wants to see his kids grow up.â
According to the Kidney Foundation, kidneys are the most common living-organ donation and, the procedure is the most successful of all transplants. This is partly due to the increased time the process allows for tissue-matching, which reduces the risk of organ rejection.
On average, a kidney from a deceased donor lasts 10 to 15 years, while one from a living donor lasts 15 to 20 years, the site adds.
âKnowing that most of my grandkids are coming 10, 15 years from now, (six months to six years on dialysis is) about the most that I have if I donât get this,â Gagnon said.
The Gagnonsâ kids range in age from 12 to 24 years. The family has called Cloverdale home for 18 years, but Gagnonâs ties to the Semiahmoo Peninsula â where he still has family and friends â remain strong.
While he and Amy will mark 25 years married later this year, they learned while dating that he had first made her laugh long before that, when she was in Grade 9 at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary and attended an improv show heâd hosted at Semi.
âFor years, my brother and I talked about this funny guy who was at the show,â Amy said. âAnd then when Darryl and I were dating, he said, âthat was me.â
âHe was such a standout, the funniest guy there.â
A knack for comedy landed Gagnon on Montrealâs Just for Laughs stage for a year, and he said he was offered a mini tour of the West Coast when he was in his early 20s. But he knew what he really wanted was a family.
âThatâs always been my priority,â he said.
A registered organ donor himself, Gagnon said he realizes handing over an organ is no small ask, and itâs a question heâs not specifically put to family members, feeling that âif they want to donate, they will.â
Amy said she âsat with it for awhileâ before making the Facebook post.
âHow do you go about asking someone for that? Itâs so hard and so difficult,â she said.
Many pledged to share the post and at least one commenter has said they have the same Type O blood as Gagnon, and have reached to the hospital about donating. Another said they didnât know their blood type, âbut I am going to find out and pray that I can help you my friend.â
Gagnon said he has been touched by the response.
âIt was nice to know that the few people Iâve let into my life definitely think itâs worth sharing,â he said. âNice to see that Iâm loved.â
Not everyone can qualify as a donor, however, and the process of determining if someone is a match is rigorous. Just 17 per cent of those who put their names in the hat qualify, Gagnon said.
The process is also anonymous, with recipients only informed of a match when itâs âgo time.â
All living donation is managed through Vancouver General Hospital and St. Paulâs Hospital Pre-Assessment Transplant Clinics.
Anyone wishing to explore being a living donor for Gagnon may email kidneydonornurse@vch.ca, quoting registration number 24342.
Gagnon quipped that if he does find a match, and that individual identifies him or herself to him, they can expect huge thank yous in the years to come.
âIâll be constantly sending them updates of me holding grandchildren, me going on vacation⊠theyâd definitely be my hero,â he said.
âTheyâd be on my mind everyday, for the rest of my life.â
In the meantime, he said heâs made it his mission to encourage others to get their kidney function tested regularly.
tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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