Soon it will be over but until it is, here it is again; please don't get sick of reading my articles. You saw this gentleman at our legends show, Dan McConnell from Saskatoon. He was our Waylon Jennings; not only does he look like Waylon used to but he also sings his songs. Dan and his band will be entertaining us at the Maymont Hall in a fundraiser for TeleMiracle. Please join us Feb. 16. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $15. Please call Carol or Mel at (306) 389-2440 for more information and, if no one is home, please leave a message. Come and enjoy an evening of entertainment, dancing, cash bar, silent auction, door prizes, 50/50 draw and a surprise box lunch.
Why are we doing this event? It's kind of a payback to the Kinsmen Foundation. At the age of 36, Shawn Deagnon, our son, was diagnosed with sarcodosis, a condition that creates blood clots caused by granules that develop in an organ and restrict blood flow. It can affect virtually any organ and its cause is unknown. The Deagnons began receiving help from the Kinsmen Foundation after they filed an application in December 2005. "There was no possible way they could have done it themselves, they would have lost everything."
Kinsmen donated just under $20,000 to help the Deagnons with transportation, air ambulance trips, accommodations and meals related to an ordeal that lasted from September, 2005, until three months after Shawn's surgery April 10, 2006. Since 1977, the foundation has been helping people like the Deagnons overcome financial obstacles on the road to better health.
In the spring of 2005, Shawn, a lifetime soccer player, accepted an invitation to play in a league game with one of his co-workers. Fifteen minutes into it, he was short of breath but his muscles barely felt fatigued. Putting it off as being a little out of shape, he didn't think much of it. But soon he was having trouble moving van parts up a flight of stairs where he worked. Not long afterward, Shawn started coughing up blood.
Starting in September, he was in and out of Royal University Hospital for six months. He would be released with a prescription for blood thinner, only to return a short time later. He was tired and couldn't breathe. At one point he could barely make the trek from his couch to the bathroom.
In December, he was taken by air ambulance to Ottawa to see a surgeon specializing in clot removal from lungs. But the clots were so great in number and so deep in his lungs, the procedure couldn't be done. A month later, he was back on an air ambulance en route to Edmonton. That's when doctors first suspected sarcodosis, but opted not to do a biopsy to find out. "They were scared that if they put him under he wouldn't come out of it." They added him to a transplant list and he went home.
From that point, until he returned to Edmonton for his transplant, Shawn was bedridden, moving only by wheelchair if necessary. He just about died twice. After returning to Edmonton, Shawn began a physical activity program to prepare for the transplant. Two weeks after going to Edmonton, he had both lungs replaced. He also had surgery to repair his heart, which was left overworked by his failing lungs.
The scariest part was when the medical staff wheeled him into surgery, still unsure if he'd return from his anesthetic-induced sleep. But he did. And three months later, after living at the Argyle Hotel, they returned home.
Shawn's stay in the hospital was "record setting." He spent a day and a half in the intensive care unit and was out of the hospital in just over two weeks. They say they've never had anyone close to that. Shawn is doing well; he's on medication. The anti-rejection drugs have lowered his immune system, leaving him susceptible to influenza and common colds.
Now what can you do? Come to our fundraiser and have a great time. Call us if you'd like to make a donation (389-2440). Most of you know who we are. Any donations $10 or more, if requested, will be receipted.
Hope you're feeling better, Howard Bulmer. Keep smiling.
