A second, grateful chance at life
Double lung recipient raising awareness on organ donation
William Fougere wakes up each morning, breathes and carries on with his life like many of his peers, all on his own.
The 69-year-old retired junior high school teacher visits the pool three times a week, golfs with his wife Janet and friends, and is even able to travel. Ten years ago, though, he couldn’t do any of these things.
“I am able to live life,” says the Fairview man.
Fougere has had a double lung transplant and is grateful for the gift of life.
“If not for the forethought, kindness and awareness of someone unknown to me, I would not be here today to answer your questions,” he says.
OPT-OUT INSTEAD OF OPT-IN
Organ and tissue donation is a topic that is riddled with misconceptions as much as it’s promoted. On Jan. 18, 2021, Nova Scotia passed the landmark Nova Scotia Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act (HOTDA), which specifies that if you don’t register your donation decision and you are eligible, you will be seen as having consented to organ and tissue donation after death. This is called ‘deemed consent.’
“It was time for us to catch up with several other countries around the world,” says Fougere, adding he wishes the rest of Canada would follow Nova Scotia’s lead.
“If you disagree, you can always optout,” he says.
Currently, more than 4,000 Canadians are waiting for a donated organ, according to Fougere, and presumed consent could potentially make available organs so drastically needed to improve the lives of those waiting.
The act, no doubt, raised some eyebrows with certain Canadians complaining that they do not want the government making such a crucial decision for them.
“That is not the case,” clarifies Fougere, who does advocacy work for The Lung Association of Nova Scotia. “A substitute decision-maker can always opt-out for you.”
Fougere handles a Lung Transplant Support Group via Facebook; he also manages a Nova Scotia Lung Health page, where he shares information related to lung health issues.
DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS
Fougere’s lung condition pre-transplant was called bronchiolitis obliterans, a progressive disease that results in obstruction of the smallest airways of the lungs’ bronchioles due to inflammation.
The disease progressed very quickly and his ability to breathe diminished; he required oxygen 24 hours a day.
It was not long before his doctor was advising him to “get his affairs in order” because he didn’t think Fougere would live long enough to complete the pre-transplant assessment and wait for the transplant.
Fougere and his wife decided to ask for another doctor’s opinion. He says that was the “best decision ever.”
“A third-year intern, working with a respiration specialist, began to oversee all of the tests and assessments required for pre-transplant requirements before the Toronto General Hospital transplant team would consider me as a candidate for transplant,” he says.
“It took a lot of hard work but I was eventually listed ...”
Fougere and his wife made the move to Toronto to wait for a donor. After a four-month wait, he was notified donor lungs were a perfect match.
“It was two weeks after my 60th birthday,” Fougere says.
He was already admitted to hospital due to serious illness. His surgery took about eight hours and the hospital recovery was about eight days. He had to remain in Toronto for an additional three months for rehab and various tests.
When he returned to Halifax, he was approached by the past president of The Lung Association of Nova Scotia, Louis Brill, to join the board. Nine years later, he’s still a board member.
RAISING AWARENESS
Green Shirt Day, observed on April 7 across Canada, raises awareness about organ donation in memory of one of the Humboldt victims.
In 2018, 16 people were killed and 13 others were injured when a bus carrying the junior hockey team The Humboldt Broncos crashed in Saskatchewan. Logan Boulet was among the players who died; he became an organ donor and saved six lives.
What followed was what is now known as the Logan Boulet effect – his story inspiring thousands of Canadians to register as organ donors. Logan’s family wanted to keep the momentum going, and the first Green Shirt Day was commemorated on April 7, 2019.
SECOND CHANCE
For Fougere, after surgery, “a new lifestyle was out there waiting for me to take advantage of it, and I am,” he says.
As for his lung health, he says it’s better than ever.
“I, fortunately, have had no lungrelated complications post-transplant. My oxygen levels never drop below 98 per cent. My lung functions are great and I now only require yearly checkups.”
Register to donate is the only message Fougere has for Atlantic Canadian citizens.
“One organ donor could potentially save eight lives and improve the lives of over 80 people. One of those lives was mine,” he adds.