The Butterfly Effect: Life Giving Organ Donors
TORONTO – Tuesday, April 14, as both an individual and as publisher, accompanied by people associated with our daily publication, I attended an impressive inaugural banquet/gala – The Butterfly Effect. It was made possible, in part by Dan Montesano of Lido Construction and many others like him who feel a special attraction to, and fondness for, those whose personal sacrifice benefits others. The Butterfly Effect owes its birth to a disarmingly pleasant young woman, Emily Fusco, whom I did not know until last night.
Because of her experience, she may well become the face of organ donation campaigns nation wide. Emily is here today because she was a fortunate beneficiary of a “match” with a live donor her own mother, Lorraine. Without her, in the best of circumstances, Emily, according to the latest statistics from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), would still be among the cohort of over 4,000 individuals clinging to the hope that a matching donor will appear and that a surgical intervention will result in the success we all wish for them.
Neither can begin without a cache of potential donors. It has never been an easy or even enticing endeavour. In the mid to late nineties, I had the occasion to serve as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and as the Chairman for the House of Commons Committee on Health. Suffice it to say that the myriad of obstacles – emotional, family and jurisdictional – do not facilitate decisions that in hindsight seem natural and desirable. Yet, more often than not, the need and the solution appear right in our “backyard.”
It is encouraging that the situation is “improving”. The number of recipients is increasing. Between 71% and 77% of the people in need require a kidney donor. Several political, government and religious persona were in attendance to give their support: His Worship Mayor Steven Del Duca, MP Anna Roberts, Fr, Eugenio. Councillors Gino Rosati, Linda Jackson, Mario Racco, Gila Marlow, Adriano Volpentesta, Chris Ainsworth and Rosanna DeFrancesca came with their own contingent of supporters for the cause. There were no political speeches.
The event staging was dedicated to muted, mood- inducing, natural darkness sprinkled with contrasting, bright “musical performances” evocative of the theme The Butterfly Effect. Three women dominated the formalities: Emcee Elvira Caria, speaker, Meg Shillingford (on the experience of organ donation) and of course Emily Fusco. The retelling of her own experience brought tears to the eyes of just about everyone, including Corriere Canadese’s own Priscilla Pajdo and her mother, Teresa. Their experience mirrored Emily’s and Lorraine’s.
Kudos to Mayor Del Duca who used his brief time at the podium to speak as an uncle to his niece Emily. May those on the proverbial waiting list receive a benefactor and those who do spur on more donors and generate grater hope for others.
Here below is a photo-videogallery from the event (pics and videos: Corriere Canadese – Priscilla Pajdo and Raquel Martins)
