'I’m looking forward to some ups for them': Local family awaiting kidney transplant receives help from stranger
A Windsor couple struggling through medical and financial challenges say the help they’ve received from a generous stranger has been “overwhelming.”
Gerard Reaume and his wife Cindy are working through these hurdles as he has kidney failure and needs a transplant.
He is doing dialysis at home.
Cindy tested positive as a donor, but sooner discovered her kidneys were cancerous.
“When he’s going through dialysis it’s so hot in that room,” Chris Lauzon, the Reaumes’ daughter, said. “He’s sweating so much for someone who is always cold right now because he’s sick.
The family’s furnace broke down, and after hearing about their difficulties on CTV Windsor’s Sunday newscast, Craig Harris knew he had to help.
“My wife had cancer and it devastated our family,” Harris explained. “She pulled through.”
“It was very difficult to run a business and try to take care of my wife at the same time,” said the Harris Heating and Cooling business owner. “People don’t see that part of it and it’s difficult. That’s what you get married for. To take care of your family, wife and do what you can do."
Harris installed a temporary portable air conditioner Sunday night for the Reaumes then called Lennox.
“This family looks like its had a lot of downs. I’m looking forward to some ups for them,” Eric Bikkers, Lennox Territory Manager, said. “They will be more comfortable in their house. Hopefully that helps with a speedy recovery.”
Cindy was told by her doctor the cancer could be removed and the kidney could then be transplanted, so while the family waits, they now wait in comfort.
“It's just overwhelming what they're doing here,” Reaume said.
The family is very grateful for the gift.
“Just amazing,” he said. :So many mixed emotions. Happy. Joy.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.