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April is #BeADonor Month in Ontario – a month devoted to raising awareness about the need for organ and tissue donations and to encourage joining the 4.5 million Ontarians who are registered donors. To recognize this important month, Joanna & Ryley Mitchell share how an organ donor changed their lives.
“When Ryley was just 2 months old, we noticed that she was vomiting quite a bit over a few days and she was making this funny little noise when she was breathing. When we went to the ER, there were so many doctors and nurses and they were trying to get blood from her and she was this tiny little baby. I saw the doctor hold up the chest X-Ray they had done and I heard the words “enlarged heart;” I knew it was bad. I looked at him and I said, ‘so you’re telling me that my baby’s going to die’. He said ‘No, but there’s a good chance she’s going to need a heart transplant’.
They called us at 2 o’clock in the morning. My husband and I were at the hotel and the doctor called us and said, ‘I think we have a heart for Ryley.’ That afternoon at 2 o’clock, she went in for her surgery and at 9:30 that night we got to see her at the ICU. She was on a breathing tube. She had this IV pole full of medication. But she was pink and she just looked so wonderful.
Eleven days after her heart transplant, she was discharged from the hospital and she hasn’t looked back since.” - Joanna Mitchell
"I was first diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy when I was seven months old in 2006. I was put on the waiting list and only waited 10 days for my new heart. The call came late in January at 2 in the morning. I went into surgery for 5 hours and when I was out I looked happier and healthier already. I was smiling. This is how I got the nickname Smyley Ryley.
My transplant journey is never over but with the support of my family, friends, doctors, nurses, it has been much easier.
My donor family being so selfless is one of the reasons I feel inspired to help many other people by sharing my story and volunteering.
I have been able to experience so much through my life because of my donor. I’ve done the Canadian Transplant Games, gone to summer camps, and I can do swimming, gymnastics, and express myself through my artwork.
I just celebrated my 16th anniversary of my heart transplant. I’m so thankful for my donor family and to live my life because of them." - Ryley Mitchell
Visit organtissuedonation.ca to find out how to become an organ donor where you live.
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