Wife of La Ronge restaurant owner gets note from third organ recipient

Cora Laich doesn’t know who penned the handwritten note delivered to her this week, but she hopes to one day meet the person responsible for those 152 words, whose life was altered for the better thanks to a choice made in the midst of Laich’s own hardship.

Before her husband, Simon Grant, 64, died in hospital from injuries he suffered during an assault in April at his restaurant in La Ronge, his family made the decision to donate his organs.

In the seven months since then, Laich and their daughter have received letters from the recipients of Grant’s lungs and liver. On Wednesday, Laich opened a card from someone who received one of his kidneys. The organ recipient described needing a transplant because of kidney failure due to illness about five years ago. Until the transplant, the recipient had spent three days a week on dialysis.

“Since the transplant, I have been feeling a lot healthier and we can now visit our children and grandchildren for more than a day at a time,” the recipient wrote.

“My family and I will always remember your act of kindness and generosity. I will cherish my gift for the rest of my life.”

In an interview, Laich said she feels “fantastic” about the decision to donate Grant’s organs.

“I think the best part about this is that Simon believed in this so much and that I know he is probably doing a little dance in heaven because he believed in it so much,” she said.

“So, it means a lot to me because of the way he lived his life on Earth; he can now also be alive in someone else and make a difference in this world, even now.”

One man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Grant’s death, and two youths face second-degree

murder charges. The Crown stayed accessory charges against a fourth person. Grant was assaulted at his restaurant, Louisiana’s BarB-Que, in the northern Saskatchewan community.

For the families who received her husband’s organs, Laich feels there will be more joy and celebration during the holiday season. Spending time with loved ones is immeasurably better than dialysis three times a week, she noted.

Laich and her daughter haven’t met any of the recipients yet. Both very much hope to someday. Laich said it would be a “miracle” to see first-hand how the organ donations changed those people’s lives.

Under the guidelines for organ donations, until both sides agree to be identified to the other, each stays anonymous.

Laich said she and her daughter are doing well, in part because they have Grant’s words to draw on. While he was alive, he told her he wanted her to be happy if he passed away and that he wanted her and their daughter to have a good life.

Laich has also seen a counsellor to help her through her sorrow.

“That’s been a huge difference and I encourage anyone who is going through grief to do that. It’s important to be able to get things out and recognize your feelings and why you might be doing a certain thing or thinking a certain thing,” she said.

She has also been spending time with their pets, including chihuahuas, three cats Simon rescued in La Ronge, a cockatiel and a budgie, and enjoying the outdoors, she said.

“Just moving forward and living one day at a time, knowing we will be OK.”