Donating organs, a wonderful final gift
- EFN Staff | December 17, 2017
It was a chance meeting at a shopping mall, but my five minutes with Everett Bear will always be in my mind. My wife and I were shopping at the Midtown for a laptop travelling bag. As we entered a store I made eye contact with a young man who was shopping with his family. We did the classic acknowledging nod to each other.
To my surprise he had recognized me from being pals on Facebook. He thought it was a great thing to run into the Eagle Feather News guy shopping on a Saturday. We had a good chat and he got my wife to take a photo of us together. Later he posted it and tagged me up and thanked me for doing the paper and providing a platform. It was a real positive five-minute interaction. I even told my kids about it. It made me feel good.
So, I started having his story come on my Facebook all the time and I got to see glimpses of his life. He was a happy guy with kids that he loved and a big family. The one day his sister posted on his page and it was apparent tragedy had struck. Everett had slipped on the ice and hit his head and had been rushed to the hospital. The doctors weren’t optimistic. Prayers and messages of hope flooded his Facebook page.
But it wasn’t to be. At the end of November when all hope was lost, the family made the very difficult decision to not sustain Everett’s life any longer. The loss of a bright light and the devastation shown by his friends and family shook me. I told my son about Everett passing. We were so shocked. Though we didn’t know him but for five minutes, it felt like I knew him…and then this tragedy. So quick. So young and with kids.
The family made the decision to donate Everett’s organs. His aunt Francine Bear said it would have been what Everett wanted. “This was Everett’s choice. He always said if anything happened to him he would gift a part of himself to help another,” she told me. “It comforts me knowing he gave the gift of life with his own. He would have been 32 December 10th. So, the family is having a balloon release in his honour. My grandchildren want to attach a note on the balloons so he can read it in heaven.”
Everett donated his liver and both kidneys. Those organs are going to go to three people and it will change their lives forever. About 70 people in Saskatchewan are currently waiting for a kidney transplant. On average, they will wait 2.8 years for a kidney - that's 437 dialysis treatments per person. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and one tissue donor can enhance the lives of 75 people. Darlene is the transplant coordinator for Saskatchewan. If you are interested in becoming a donor, there are many people on the waitlist. Call her at 1-306-655-5054 for more information.
So, from that five-minute meeting with Everett Bear, I learned about family, I learned about need, I learned about giving and I learned to be grateful every single day for the gifts we have been given.
Everett is survived by his common-law wife Miranda Crookedneck; daughters Beatrice, Freedom, Napeshni; stepdaughter Kyra, and son Isreal. Thanks for the short but powerful visit Everett. And I am sure there are many families thanking you and your family right now for the ultimate gift of a better life this Christmas season.