Back in June of 2019 we received a request from Addison's mother to quote on some trading pins. The pins were to be traded with other transplant recipients at the World Transplant Games to be held in August 2019 in the UK.
As grandparents of children about the same age as Addison, her story struck home in a BIG way.
After hearing Addison's story of heart failure at a very young age we decided to sponsor her by way of supplying trading pins that she could take to the World Transplant games
Please take a moment to read Addison's story, and imagine yourselves as parents or grandparents of a child with heart disease.
Addison went into heart failure at three weeks of age and was rushed to BC Children's Hospital, ultimately diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that had no treatment except for a heart transplant. Six days after arriving in Emergency, Addison miraculously received her second chance at life on Mother's Day.
She is now more than eight years post-transplant and enjoys going to school (Grade 3), doing triathlon, jujitsu, piano and reading. Addison has been competing in the World Transplant Games since she was four years old - the youngest competitor at that Games in 2015 and the following one in 2017.
She also attended the Canadian Transplant Games in Vancouver in 2018. At the last World Transplant Games in England this past August, she came home with three golds and one silver - 50 m run, 25 m freestyle swim, ball throw and long jump. While she loves meeting transplant recipients, donors and donor family members from around the world, and competing, her number one favorite thing at the Games is trading pins. At every opportunity she can get, she would be pulling out her bag of personalized pins, which people loved.
Transplant is not a cure. Addison must take toxic anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life and this causes many side effects. But we are very grateful for her gift of life and try to make the most of every day.
Organ donation is such a beautiful gift and impacts so many people beyond the person who is receiving the life-saving transplant.
It only takes two minutes to register your decision: taketwominutes.ca