Darvy and his fiancée Megan walking their dogs, Batman and Lacey, in a Coquitlam park.
On December 19, 2006, Darvy Culleton got an early Christmas gift at Vancouver General Hospital.
“It was a double lung transplant,” Darvy says. “I was in pretty rough shape before that – my life was brutal.”
Darvy’s lungs were failing because of a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. He lived a fairly normal and active life in Coquitlam until he was about 20 years old when the disease slowly began to take hold, making life more difficult each year. When he was 30, when his lungs were only functioning at 19 per cent capacity, Darvy was put on a wait list for an urgent transplant. Four months later, he woke up in VGH’s intensive care unit with a new pair of lungs.
He remembers the first breath well.
“My body wasn’t used to having all that oxygen so it was really intense,” he says with a small laugh. “Every time I sat up in my bed, I would get a headache.”
Darvy is one of the thousands of people over the years whose lives have been saved thanks to not only the hard work of VCH doctors and nurses, but the British Columbians who have donated their organs.
Last year, 306 organs were transplanted in B.C., setting a new record in the province – 25 of those cases were lung transplants.
“It was a new life and things got so much better,” says Darvy, who, after 21 days at VGH, was back at home and after two months, was back riding his BMX bike. “And I’ve got six wonderful years out of these lungs.”
A contagious passion resonates from the energetic Darvy who is considers himself lucky to be alive.
“I’m just really lucky – I really am,” he says. Darvy says that while every day hasn’t been easy, his recovery would not have been possible without the staff at VGH who he got to know very well.
“Dr. Yee has been incredible,” he says. “Dr. (Robert) Levy, Dr. (Jennifer) Wilson…and my nurse, Jane Kerr – my transplant journey wouldn’t have been complete without her.”
The memorable years will continue Darvy marrying his fiancée Megan in three months – he only proposed to her a couple weeks ago.
“We live life, we do everything,” he says. Darvy stays active walking their dogs Batman and Lacey and riding his bike. “We don’t miss out on anything…nothing.”
It’s National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week. To learn more about helping those like Darvy who need healthy new organs, go to the BC Transplant site or GiftofLife.ca.
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