Peewee hockey team makes video to find coach a kidney
A Vancouver peewee hockey coach said he’s “amazed and overwhelmed” by the response to a video put together by his team to help him find a living kidney donor.
Stephen Gillis said the video is the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for him.
“Help us help our coach,” team members dressed for a game say in unison in the video.
Some members of the 11to 12-year-old mixed gender team hold up message placards in the video, including: “Coach Stephen is really sick” and “We need to find a donor for Coach Stephen.”
Gillis is the coach of the Vancouver Minor Hockey Association’s Peewee A2 team, The Spirit.
He said Monday that many people are surprised that he needs a new kidney, considering his active lifestyle.
At 25, Gillis was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel illness.
“My condition, based on my blood work, is getting worse, but I don’t necessarily feel too bad,” he said.
He said he started feeling “a bit weird” last July and his hands began to cramp. Gillis chalked down his symptoms to dehydration.
His doctors gave him a different diagnosis.
“They let me know that my blood was basically vinegar and that it wasn’t being cleaned for a while,” he said. “I developed a rare kidney disease because of my Crohn’s disease.”
After spending some time in hospital, he said his kidney function came up to about 14 per cent, but it’s now back down. Gillis, 38, will soon have to start dialysis to keep his blood clean.
The captain of the team and his mother approached Gillis and asked him about next steps for his health and he suggested he might make a “selfie video” that was “not too sad.”
Instead, the player and his mom came up with another idea. The team would put together a video asking for a kidney donor, they said. The video has now racked up thousands of views.
In the video, the players say Gillis is an “awesome” coach who teaches them to be good people and good players.
“Stephen really needs a kidney. If he doesn’t find one he might not be able to coach,” says one of the players in the video.
Another player says he knows this is a lot to ask, but there might be people out there who are willing to help.
“Please help us help our coach,” they sign off as a group.
Gillis said the response to the video has been “amazing.”
“It’s very beautiful. They’re very kind and their kindness has been very overwhelming,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.