STORIES OF HOPE

Donor Stories

Celebrating Life

(Note: picture Sciberras Family)

Shawn Sciberras – Patient, Volunteer, Donor

Many lives begin at the Health Sciences Centre … many more begin again. Wherever one
is on life’s journey, it is valuable to remember, honour and celebrate what has
gone before and what lies ahead. The Health Sciences Centre Foundation has the
honour of being part of many remembrances… many celebrations, recognizing the
impact of extraordinary people on those around them.

One of these extraordinary people was Shawn Sciberras, who passed away in March
2008 at the age of 28. He had an innate kindness and a loving family, including
his wife Barb, and a precious daughter, Ayva Marie, who was only seven weeks
old when Shawn died.

First diagnosed with severe pneumonia in 2001, Shawn’s health deteriorated as a
result of many complications from his illness. He spent a great deal of time at
the Health Sciences Centre, eventually undergoing a double lung transplant in
February 2006.

In the fall of 2006, Shawn was a featured guest on the Health Sciences Centre
Foundation’s Gift of Hope Radiothon. Grateful for the life-saving organ
donation and excellent care he received at the Health Sciences Centre, he was
proud to share his story.

“Shawn was given less than six months to live,” said Barb. “Instead – because of the
organ transplant he received at the Health Sciences Centre – he was with us for
another two years. I see the power of that gift in our daughter’s face, each
time I look at her.”

Inspired by Shawn’s selfless nature, his friends and family chose to celebrate his life
with donations to the Gift of Life Program through the Health Sciences Centre
Foundation.

“Shawn was always saying ‘This baby is such a miracle!,” says Barb. “It is our fervent
hope that other families will have the chance for their own kind of miracles –
that’s why these memoriam gifts were so important to us. We know – firsthand –
what can happen when people choose to give.”

Birth and death are facts of life. The Health Sciences Centre Foundation is proud to
provide opportunities to commemorate these moments and the journey which lies
between. Support the extraordinary every day. Click
here (Note: link to online donation page) to make a gift now.

MORE (NOTE: link to Gift
of Hope Radiothon page) about the Gift of Hope Radiothon.

Building on a Legacy

(NOTE: picture J.H.Ashdown.Jr.)

James Henry Ashdown, Donor

James Harry Ashdown is counted among those who have chosen to support extraordinary
research and compassionate patient care at the Health Sciences Centre by
leaving a future gift to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation. His family gift
will build on the already established H.C. Ashdown Endowment Research Fund.

When Mr. Ashdown advised the Health Sciences Centre Foundation of his thoughtful
gift intentions, he became a member of the Andrew Bannatyne Legacy Society – a
group recognizing those who have made such a provision. The Society is named in
honour of Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne, whose gift of land in the early
1870s led to the establishment of the Winnipeg General Hospital. That hospital
– now the Health Sciences Centre – was built on land he donated.

The Ashdown Family has a rich history of involvement at the Health Sciences Centre,
stemming from the hospital’s beginnings. James Henry Ashdown was a friend of
Andrew Bannatyne and sat on the hospital’s very first Board of Directors. His
son, Harry, and grandson, James, served on the board until the 1960s. The
Ashdown Family’s involvement continued for well over a century.

“We have worked to support the vision of the Health Sciences Centre since its
inception,” says William Ashdown, son of James. “My father is proud to
contribute in this way, leaving a lasting memory and positive influence on the Manitoba community and the health and welfare of the individual.”

Andrew Bannatyne created a legacy by generously donating the land which allowed for
the establishment of this place to heal, this place to hope. No one can know if
he foresaw what the Health Sciences Centre has become today – a place where
some of the world’s finest medical professionals and investigators use the most
advanced technology to mend and treat those who need it most.

With his future gift, James Ashdown builds on that legacy… seizing the opportunity
to leave a lasting impact on Manitobans for generations to come.

When you make a gift to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation – now or in the future
– you build on the powerful and lasting legacy of those who have gone before.
Support the extraordinary every day. Click
here (NOTE: link to donate now page) to make a gift now.

MORE (NOTE: link to Andrew Bannatyne Legacy Society page) about the Andrew Bannatyne Legacy Society