Prince George Citizen September 25, 2018 by Prince George Citizen

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 | Your community newspaper since 1916

‘We watched our boy fight for his life’ Local boy needs kidney transplant Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca He’s an energetic three-year-old local boy and he needs a kidney. Lucas Everitt’s mom Natasha McGreish stood in front of the microphone during the opening ceremony of the 11th annual Kidney Walk held Sunday afternoon at AiMHi’s gymnasium and before she could even start telling their story she was in tears. To give her a moment to collect herself, Mayor Lyn Hall, who had greeted the walk participants moments earlier, started applause to show that she was among friends and that she could take all the time she needed before she continued her most difficult speech. Surrounded by her family, including Ryan Everitt, Lucas’s father, and son Carson, along with Lucas who sat comfortably in his dad’s arms, McGreish stood before the microphone looking out at about 80 people who were gathered to support the cause before they all set out to do the 2.5 km walk around the Lac des Bois school track. McGreish talked about discovering Lucas had issues with his kidneys at 14 weeks in utero and how after only five days old, Lucas had a major health crisis due to his under-developed kidneys. “We watched our boy fight for his life and there was nothing we could do,” McGreish said. “I wish I could say that Lucas’s struggles ended there but I cannot. His first year of life was full of ups and downs, constant blood work, surgeries, bladder infections, appointments and hospital admissions that took a toll on all of us.” McGreish said there were many sleepless nights as Lucas’s parents wondered how long it could all go on. At a year old, Lucas had his right kidney removed. “Surgery was tough and recovery was even tougher,” McGreish said. “Once again Lucas showed us his strength and powered through and I’m happy to say the last two years have been amazing for Lucas and our family.” It turns out the kidney that had been removed was a source of infection and since

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Natasha McGreish speaks as Ryan Everitt, and their son Lucas, 3, stand alongside her during a cermony prior to the Prince George Kidney Walk on Sunday afternoon at AimHi gymnasium. having it removed, Lucas has been infection free. “But Lucas’s story does not end here,” McGreish said. “We are now going through the preparation testing for Lucas’s kidney transplant.” McGreish and dad Ryan are being tested right now and it looks like McGreish might be the right candidate to be the donor and will know more after extensive testing if that’s the case. In the meantime, her immediate family is reaching out to other members of their family, friends and strangers to find a match. Because transplanted kidneys don’t have

a lifelong expectancy it’s likely Lucas will need another kidney transplant in the future and McGreish reminded those in the gymnasium that organ donation is very important to consider. “We are here today to spread awareness of kidney disease and advocate for all who are awaiting transplants,” said McGreish, who went on to thank family and friends for their support and everyone who helped them through their health journey with Lucas. Paul Duperron, a longtime volunteer with the local Kidney Foundation branch who received a kidney transplant in 2011,

is once again on the active donor list as the transplanted kidney has significantly reduced function. Duperron is back to being on dialysis three times a week. Duperron and his wife Diane have been involved with the Kidney Foundation for many years and know the importance of organ donation and ask everyone to consider registering as organ donors today. Visit transplant.bc.ca. It’s not too late to make a donation to the Kidney Foundation, were funds will be directed to local services and programs as well as research. To donate visit kidney.ca.

Father, son jailed for machete attack Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca A father and son were sentenced Monday to lengthy terms in prison for an attempt to murder a woman suspected of blowing the cover on a drug-dealing operation posing as a smartphone repair shop. James Stanley Filiatrault, 55, was sentenced to nine years and William Thomas Filiatrault, 23, was sentenced to seven years for the Nov. 5, 2016 incident in which the two coaxed the woman into their pickup truck, drove out to a forest service road and attacked her with a machete. It occurred a day after RCMP executed a search warrant on the store, which was located on Third Avenue and just two doors away from the needle exchange. Four people were arrested and quantities of various “street drugs” were seized. The woman, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, was suspected of being a “rat” and the Filiatraults, who trafficked out of the store but were not the leaders

Today’s Weather Hi +12° Low +6° See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts

LOCAL HOROSCOPE OPINION NEWS MONEY

of the operation, were ordered to kill the woman, the court was told. A local street person was convinced to buy a machete from a nearby store and the woman was tracked down to a home of a friend. She refused to follow them outside but the two found her again later the same day near Third and George and told her she needed to come with them to do a job and clear her name. They drove about 75 kilometres east of the city on Highway 16 and then about seven kilometres along the Bowron Forest Service Road before coming to a stop. The three got out and when the woman heard William Filiatrault had the machete in his hand, she begged him not to kill her. They told her to shut up and said that was not their intent. They walked a short distance from the truck and William Filiatrault hesitantly poked the machete at her chest, giving her a small cut. He handed the machete to his father who, in turn, repeatedly hit the woman before she was able escape and hide in the ditch alongside the road. The Filiatraults drove up and down the road looking for her but soon gave up and drove

1-3 2 4 5 6

SPORTS A&E COMICS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS

7-9 10-11 11-12 11-12 13-16

back to Prince George. Even though she was bleeding from head to toe, had sustained a series of life-threatening skull fractures and had lost her shoes, the woman was able to walk out to the highway in the dark where passing drivers saw her and called the RCMP. The driver of an eastbound semi truck pulled over to help her out, as did a couple with children in a pickup truck heading west. With its flashers on, they headed towards Prince George until meeting up with an RCMP officer and ambulance personnel. The women identified the Filiatraults as her attackers and the RCMP, who knew where they were living, arrested them the next day, while a subsequent search of their motel room uncovered packaging for the machete and clothing with the woman’s blood on it. The two had initially denied committing the act but in April 2016, while an officer was in the process of obtaining a DNA sample from him, the father made an unrecorded comment he had no choice but to do what he had done to the woman. — see ‘CERTAINLY, HE HAD, page 3

Forums important to election EDITORIAL 4

www.pgcitizen.ca

Area lottery winners haven’t come forward Citizen staff Ah, to be so lucky. It’s true. You can only win if you play but the other side of that is you can only enjoy the money if you collect the prize. The $500,000 winner from Prince George in the Extra for the Lotto Max draw for Sept. 14 still hasn’t come forward. And there’s more good news for someone out west. The winning ticket, worth $1 million, for one of the Maxmillions in Friday’s Lotto Max was bought in Smithers. As of Monday afternoon, that winner hasn’t come forward, either.

Newsstand $2.00 incl. tax Home Delivered 95¢/day

58307

00200