‘My heart feels pretty full’: Qualicum Chief recovering well after organ donation

CHEK

For four years, Micheal Recalma searched for a kidney donor that would free him from hospitals and dialysis to get back to leading the Qualicum First Nation as their respected Chief.

This week, he got that critical gift in a Vancouver operating room.

“My heart feels pretty full. Because my whole body feels so much different, it feels better, I feel more energized,” said Chief Michael Recalma, from a Vancouver hospital room.

The donor was Scott Harrison, a first-term Qualicum Beach Councillor, who has a hearty laugh and an even bigger heart to match.

“We are moving forward together in a good outcome. I think that’s the most important thing,” said Scott Harrison, also from a Vancouver hospital room.

At 43, Harrison has set out to make up for the past.

The Qualicum Beach man is a descendent of a man who urged for the colonization of Vancouver Island in the 1800s.

“There’s this legacy attached, basically in my forefathers,” Harrison told CHEK News on February 19.

Harrison said when he heard of Recalma’s need, he immediately wanted to help.

“So there’s a bit of a full circle with history,” he said.

The men hope their story might inspire someone else to consider organ donation.

“Definitely changes somebody’s life. It changes the person you are giving that organ to. It gives them another lease in life and it does. It changes them forever,” said Recalma.

According to the transplant surgeons, their operations went perfectly.

“They couldn’t be happier,” said Recalma.

“And after about four days, I’m ready to be discharged so things went pretty well,” he added.

Recalma’s doctors said he could be discharged Friday in order to start his months-long recovery.

Skye RyanSkye Ryan

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