While I've known Daniel and his family since we were children, it wasn't until after high school that we really

connected. Daniel's illness wasn't something that was real to me until he was hospitalized one winter. We got back together after he spent a month in the hospital and had a splenectomy. While his health, the bone marrow transplant and now this lung transplant still scare me, he's the kindest soul I know. He's compassionate and loving and so much more than his illness.

 

Our story is so much more than his illness, and is filled with quiet memories: walks through Assiniboine Park to meet each other, writing letters in a notebook to each other during my year away, enjoying food, talking about books, movies and what makes a good story. 

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The first few months of 2017 were very scary for us. We seriously faced the possibility that Daniel would never get his lung transplant and I started preparing to lose my husband. On February 21, 2017, that all changed. We got the news we desperately needed and in the early hours of February 22, Daniel got his lung transplant. 

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Since then, Daniel has recovered faster and more completely than anyone could have predicted! We're beginning to plan and dream again. Always in the back of our minds, the refrain of "what can we do" challenges us to use this new chance at life to encourage and support others. We're still figuring it all out, but we're pretty excited!

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