Another Day of Giving is right around the corner and donations will be going twice as far this year.
Darrell and Margaret Porubanec, with the support of their sons Trevor and Murray, have pledged to match all donations that come in on KGH Foundation Day of Giving, which is Wednesday, April 25.
This year, funds are going towards the KGH Foundation’s campaign to complete the cardiac program with the addition of Advanced Heart Rhythm Services.
The Porubanec family is all too familiar with the cause, as Trevor fell to the floor unresponsive at age 22 and was later diagnosed with a life-threatening heart rhythm condition.
“It’s called Brugada Syndrome, and it causes the heart to race beyond its ability to pump blood,” explains Margaret.
“As a parent you want to keep your children safe and protected, so when Trevor collapsed, I called 911 and started to administer CPR, but felt utterly helpless.”
A trained medical staff in Kelowna saved Trevor’s life, but with no heart rhythm services available at KGH, he had to be airlifted to Victoria for treatment.
“When your child is leaving in a medi-vac jet and you don’t know what the future holds, you’d do anything to create one small element of normal,” said Darrell.
“If we can help families at least not have to worry about travel and being away from home, I feel like we’re doing our part to help an already very difficult situation.”
Currently, all patients requiring heart rhythm treatment must wait for a bed to become available in Vancouver or Victoria.
The KGH Foundation and families like the Porubanecs are doing their best to change that very soon.
For more information on the KGH Foundation Day of Giving, or to donate, click this link.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
