Linda battled kidney disease from her mid-twenties. Over a 6 year
period, Linda did home dialysis 3 times per week, on and off between 2
rejected kidney transplants. She finally had a successful transplant in
1985.
In 1986, after grueling training, Linda made her way to Budapest, Hungary
to participate in her first World Transplant Games. She was a part
of the Canadian Transplant Organization, participating in
Badminton and Track.
The World Transplant Games mirrored the Olympics, in that they
hosted their events every 4 years. Their purpose, was to promote organ
donation and bring awareness to the fact, “that there is life after
transplants”.
Over the years Linda trained and competed at many of these games,
in places like Singapore, Australia, and France. She brought home
hardware from many of them, but to Linda, the participation alone, far
outweighed the medals.
Linda worked tireless hours most of her adult life, fund-raising and
promoting organ donation. Her goal was to try to make a
difference. If she could convince one person to sign their organ
donor card, then she knew she had.
The bumper sticker on her car read, “DON’T TAKE YOUR
ORGANS TO HEAVEN, HEAVEN KNOWS WE NEED THEM HERE!”