“For a while it didn’t look like she was coming home”
At 76-years-old, Barb McCulloch’s weeks are busy and full. Lunches out every Tuesday and Thursday, church every Sunday, winter weekends spent cheering on her husband Dan as he curls at the Fort Garry Curling Club.
And then there’s dialysis three times a week—every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Health Sciences Centre. It’s a routine Barb has followed since 2014 when she was first diagnosed with kidney disease.
“You get to know everyone there. The patients, the nurses, the staff—we’re like one big family,” Barb says of the HSC Dialysis Unit. “The nurses are so helpful there. They take really good care of you.”
In 2020, a donated kidney became available and Barb underwent a transplant. Unfortunately, her body rejected the organ and what followed was a complicated five-month hospital journey that included five surgeries, three months in the Intensive Care Unit (including a period of intubation and an induced coma), and two months in a room as she recovered.
“It was very disappointing that the transplant didn’t take, but we’re so grateful for the magic that happened afterwards. The care they provided was wonderful and they always kept me informed,” says Dan. “I have her home. For a while it didn’t look like she was coming home.”
Shortly after Barb was discharged, the couple decided to express their gratitude for the care she received—and continues to receive—by becoming donors to the HSC Foundation.
“They work so hard and provide such excellent care,” says Barb. “Dan and I were in good hands. By donating we are saying ‘thank you.’”
