For liver transplant recipient Tony Maidment, going department by department at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) to drop off holiday goodies for the staff who helped him is cathartic.
“To be able to see every one of these people in the face, eye to eye, and say ‘thank you’ means a whole world of difference,” says Tony, who volunteers to hand out treats every year. “Psychologically, I’m still dealing with the remorse and the guilt of receiving somebody else’s organ. Seeing the staff every single year helps a lot.”
The delivery of holiday goodies by transplant recipients to Interior Health (IH) staff is what Operation Popcorn is all about.
It happens every December and is a way for transplant recipients to give back to the health-care staff that is often involved in the tragic side of organ donation. With Operation Popcorn, the staff can meet people who were given new life.
“It’s neat to see the recipients come and interact with the staff. Just the look on their faces when they can see that all the work they do means something,” says organ donation specialist Leah Chesney with BC Transplant. “The staff mostly work with organ donors, so to have that other perspective is amazing.”
Tony and Abby Farnsworth, who received a heart transplant at four years old, delivered boxes of popcorn and chocolate treats to the emergency room, operation room, renal unit and Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“It’s very interesting to see the impact that we have, even working in the ICU,” says Royal Inland Hospital ICU manager Jared Macgowan. “We work with some of the most critically ill patients in the region. That can have an emotional and mental toll on a lot of our staff.
“Working with BC Transplant, we see the very challenging, tragic outcomes, so it’s nice to see that there’s a silver lining and that there are lives saved that come from organ donation.”
Abby is always happy to meet the staff, even if she doesn’t remember much from her heart transplant journey.
“It’s always a happy time because everyone is so excited for the treats,” she notes. “But it’s more about giving back to the doctors and nurses and hospital staff and giving thanks and showing our appreciation for all their hard work.”
Now 24, Abby is coming up on the twentieth anniversary of her transplant, while Tony is eight years past his.
Tony says he feels physically good and uses Operation Popcorn to continue to heal mentally.
“My [psychological] healing process is ongoing. I received my transplant and now I’m a healthy person. Physically I’m perfect, everything’s good. My blood levels, doctors are very happy with. Mentally, I do things like this to help with healing.”
Tony and Abby encourage people to sign up as organ donors. The Organ Donor Registry is through BC Transplant.
