Celebrating The Miracle of Life

Monday, 29 July 2019 06:44

Back row left to right - Ken, George, Terry, Tracy. Front row left to right - Mary and Vanya (submitted)

A miracle group of seven people are celebrating five years of life after receiving heart transplants in 2014.

TILLSONBURG - Five years ago, a group of seven people from the region were waiting for a life saving heart transplant at the London Health Sciences Centre.

Today, the group which features two people from Oxford County (Vanya Lang from Tillsonburg and Tracy Edelman of Ingersoll) are celebrating their five year anniversary of a successful surgery. Vanya Lang is hosting a miracle group BBQ and celebration this summer at her home in Tillsonburg and she hopes to also raise awareness about organ donations.

"We are 7 people who have a second chance at life because some person or some family member decided to check the box to become an organ donor."

Lang says they kind of created a support group for one another when they were waiting for a heart transplant and it is going to be really special celebrating their five year anniversary together.

"We would see each other in the hallways and we would get to know when somebody got a heart and we could visit each other, or we could discuss side effects and medications and what we are feeling so we didn't feel so alone."

According to the Trillium Gift of Life Network, more than 85% of Ontarians are in favour of organ donation. However, only one in three Ontarians have registered their consent to donate. BeADonor.ca is the simple, electronic and quick way for you to register your consent for organ and tissue donation. It only takes a moment to register with results that will be long-lasting and positive, as these stories will attest.

The Group of seven are listed below along with the date of their heart transplant surgery:

• John Loyens - March 24, 2014

• Terry Wellington - April 4, 2014

• Ken Weiler - April 9, 2014

• Vanya Lang - April 27, 2014

• George Geerts - June 19, 2014

• Tracy Edelman - August 15, 2014

• Mary Hopkinson - September 15, 2014