Angus Cameron is thin to the point of being emaciated. He looks older than his 59 years. Yet, his voice is strong.
The lifelong Richmondite believes he is one lucky man and cherishes everyday.
In 1969, the Richmond High senior was a 17-year-old jock, who lived for football, baseball and soccer. When he kept getting sick and weaker, Cameron learned his kidneys had limited function - both with less than nine per cent.
"My family was always active, we hiked, camped and walked everywhere," he said. "Initially, my family doctor thought I had a bad flu or an ulcer."
It took a year to properly diagnose the teen with kidney failure. By that time, the 18-year-old had lost more than 30 pounds on his 5' 11" frame.
"I was rushed to hospital and I really thought I was going to die," he said.
"I was transferred from Richmond Hospital to Vancouver General Hospital and told that on dialysis I had about three to four years to live."
He spent 10 years on dialysis before an organ match was found for him.
"During that time I couldn't eat much except for a little protein and a few vegetables - I was always starving," Cameron said. "Back then, doctors would cut you open and put a tube in your stomach and keep it in for 48 hours to clean you out."
That was 42 years ago - after too many operations to count and two transplants.
Cameron wanted to talk to the News to urge people to get on an organ donor registry.
"I am living proof that kidney transplants save lives," he said passionately. "I do the Grouse Grind, once I did it three times in one day, and I do the Sheraton Wall Centre's Stairclimb for Clean Air, in which I climbed 739 stairs. Thanks to my transplants and dialysis, I have had 43 years of living."
He doesn't know why his kidneys started to fail. His doctors suspect it might have been a combination of a bad case of strep throat when he was young and three summers in a row suffering through terrible heat rashes.
"Those incidents might have compromised my kidneys," he added.
It's clear Cameron has a strong will to live. He taxes his body in ways most middle age people don't. It could be said he has become a little obsessed with exercise. He claims his obsession is with living.
The only time he tears up is when asked about his wife of 10 years, Viola and his daughter, whom they adopted.
"I never feel sorry for myself because I really can't complain," he said. "I have a wife and daughter who stand by me and love me."
His goal is to get people thinking about organ donation.
"By agreeing to become an organ donor, anyone can save, improve and lengthen someone's life," Cameron said. "When I received my first transplant in 1970 I was told I had a 70 per cent chance of living one year and here I am."
Cameron also invites Richmondites to join him on a quest to create the largest organ donor awareness walk/run.
"I should have died from kidney disease but I didn't thanks to medicine and transplants," he added. "I owe everything to my organ donors."
Sunday, April 1 at 10 a.m. join Cameron and others for the Transplant Trot, hosted by the Canadian Transplant Association, at Burnaby Lake Park East, 3760 Sperling Ave.
The start/finish is at the far end of the Burnaby Rugby Club parking lot. It is a 5K and 8K walk or run with proceeds going to the Canadian Transplant Association. Online registration is available through the Running Room at http: //www.events.runningroom.com/ site/?raceId=7665. For more information, visit www.transplant.bc.ca.
BC TRANSPLANT SOCIETY STATISTICS
(from Dec. 31, 2011) z 819,703 people are registered on B.C.'s Organ Donor Registry.
- 191 transplants were performed last year, while 356 are still waiting.
- The total number of organ transplants were 285, leaving 432 people waiting.
- The total number of solid organ and islet cell transplants performed in B.C. in 2010 was 295, 211 in 2009. at 604-877-2240 or 1-800-663-6189.
