For the past three years, Paul Duperron has been front and centre as coordinator of the local Kidney Walk. But this year, Duperron was the guest of honour.
Diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 1985 and on dialysis for the past four-and-a-half years, Duperron and wife Diane were not expecting the call Sept. 7 telling them of an available organ. He received his new kidney Sept. 8 at Vancouver General Hospital.
Duperron was back home in Prince George for a brief, but whirlwind, weekend to see out his commitment to the local walk Sunday afternoon.
"Diane has been trying to get all this done without me," he said. Though tired from the travel, excitement and strain on his still-recovering body, Duperron was in good spirits. "I'm happy to help as much as I can."
The Prince George man said he was grateful for his new kidney and thankful to the donor and the donor's family, though was reluctant to bring any attention to himself as opposed to the cause.
"I didn't really do anything - I'm just the recipient," he laughed before kicking off the walk with Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond and mascot Sidney the Kidney. "The person who really did something is the donor."
But Duperron's story is uncommon, which he said is due to the gap between people who express interest in donating organs and those who actually register to do so.
As the president of the Prince George chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Duperron's wife Diane has been a long-time advocate of organ donor registration. Throughout the afternoon event at the Northern Sport Centre, t-shirts were on sale proclaiming "Don't take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here" and "Recycle yourself."
Most chronic kidney diseases attack the filtering units of the kidneys, damaging their ability to eliminate wastes and excess fluids. When the kidneys fails, wastes and fluids accumulate in your body and require dialysis treatment to clean your blood or a transplant.
According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, 72 per cent of people on the waiting list for an organ transplant are waiting for kidneys. In B.C., 85 per cent of residents surveyed stated they were in favour of organ donation but only 17 per cent have registered.
She said to get the call of an available kidney after less than five years, when doctors told the family it would take between seven and 10, was amazing.
And despite the stress of putting the finishing touches on the annual event without her husband, Diane said it came together "beautifully." Eighty-one walkers registered for the walk and brought in more than $8, 700 in pledges.
Duperron returns to Vancouver this afternoon, where he must remain for another month-and-a-half. After that, if all goes well, he will have to check in once every two weeks.
