STIRLING, ONTARIO—Connor Croft, and his family, of Manitoulin Island are elated with the news that a donor has stepped forward and he is going to get a kidney transplant.
“We are all bouncing off the walls, we are so happy,” stated Bruce Mercer, Connor’s grandfather, on Monday. “It is so great that someone would do that, and be so unselfish,” he said, pointing out that “the (kidney) donor is from Gore Bay.”
Mr. Mercer said May 16 is the date that has been set for the kidney transplant, at London Health Services. Currently, Connor lives in Stirling, which is just outside of Belleville. He undergoes eight hours of dialysis every day.
Connor, a former Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) student and boys’ hockey team alumni and Gore Bay Bruin player, found out around Christmastime in 2016 that he had kidney failure.
He had a concussion during a Mustang high school hockey game and when visiting the doctor, trying to get returned to play, doctors discovered that he had high blood pressure which led to further tests and the discovery that Connor had kidney failure.
“We had been hearing all of this (kidney transplant) was in the works,” said Mr. Mercer. “Then the donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) called us on Friday, April 20 to give us the great news. It is just amazing and we are all just so happy.”
