Mary Anne and David Peacock have always been active and involved in their community. It is only fitting that when they needed it most, their community was there for them.
It began in 2018, when David was diagnosed with prostate cancer and multiple myeloma. He was quickly drawn into the whirlwind of specialized cancer care, which would take him to all four of UHN’s main sites: Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto Rehab.
The stress of a cancer diagnosis would be challenging enough for any family, but just one year later, their lives would be shaken again. David was still in the midst of treatment when Mary Anne learned that due to health challenges of her own, she needed a life-saving liver transplant.
Mary Anne and David’s community came together in the face of these challenges. Their son Devon took a leave of absence from his job as a London, Ontario, radio show host so he could move back to Toronto, while Mary Anne’s sister flew in from British Columbia. Their daughter Heather was an important source of support, while her husband Andy offered to be Mary Anne’s living donor. Thankfully, Andy was a match and the transplant went ahead at UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre.
Fast fact: The Ajmera Transplant Centre at Toronto General Hospital, where Mary Anne received her liver transplant, is Canada’s largest liver transplant program and a North American leader in living liver donation.
Over the course of their care, David and Mary Anne saw specialized clinicians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists – not to mention the laboratory technicians, anesthesiologists, and so many other UHN staff members who played important roles at every stage of the journey. All these dedicated people worked together for a common purpose, with Mary Anne, David and their family respected as important team members themselves.
As a retired nurse, Mary Anne has always recognized the importance of including patients and their families on the care team, and attributes her and David’s successful recoveries to this incredible collaborative effort. “David and I are proud to be living proof of that team care by UHN,” she says. “We are alive today to enjoy our life and family because of that care!”
David and Mary Anne were inspired by their experiences to give back, joining the efforts of Team UHN as monthly donors to UHN Foundation. To them, this means supporting UHN in thanks for the care they received, and to help ensure the same excellent care is available for the patients and families who need it next.
“We thought the best way to honour their excellence and to thank them was to be an ongoing monthly donor,” Mary Anne says. “We also wanted to be active and support the ongoing research, discoveries and innovations that make UHN the #1 hospital in Canada, and the #1 publically-funded hospital in the world.”
Every month, their gift contributes to the community that cared so well for them. Mary Anne says, “It truly gives us a feeling of satisfaction to be a part of helping UHN achieve their goals.”
No one ever changed the world on their own but when the bright minds at UHN work together with donors we can redefine the world of health care together.
