More than 500 people including a Paralympic runner who donated a kidney to save his wife just weeks ago, laced up for the Alive to Strive Race in Ottawa Sunday morning.
Runners, walkers and wheelers participated in the event benefiting the Alive to Strive Fitness Project, which offers fitness grants to those with kidney disease.
“I got a one year membership, I also received a personal trainer for three months where I lost 23 pounds and 20 inches and my muscle mass kept going up every month which is amazing for a dialysis patient,” said Diane Aiello who received one of the grants.
Colleen Hayes and her husband, Paralympic medallist Jason Dunkerley participated in the event less than two months after he gave her his kidney.
“We're both feeling really, really good and I think following surgery we're both having the best case scenarios so we're extremely fortunate that everything went so well,” said Hayes.
According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, around 2.6 million Canadians have kidney disease or are at risk and nearly 80 per cent of the people on the organ transplant waiting list are waiting for a kidney.
“With those numbers growing, obviously there's a need for kidney transplants and it would definitely be a gift of life,” said Patricia, who donated an organ to her son and encourages others to become a donor too.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Katie Griffin
