‘They call me a fighter’: Strathmore family waits for 6-organ transplant

A Strathmore, Alta., family is hoping for a Christmas miracle, with their 24-year-old daughter at the top of Canada’s list for a six-organ transplant.

Maggie Kosterewa was studying to work in health care when she became ill several years ago. Her family said her gallstone-induced pancreatitis was initially misdiagnosed, creating complications that landed her in hospital for months at a time, including for numerous surgeries to remove various organs.

A series of infections left the rare six-organ transplant as the only option to save Maggie’s life; the young woman officially joined the transplant list this spring. She’s been told she has a 50/50 chance of survival should a donor come through.

“I don’t know if I’ve fully processed it and I have dealt with so much health stuff… I guess in my head I try not to get my hopes up with everything,” said Kosterewa.

“There’s a few doctors I’m close with. They call me a fighter.”

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The ordeal has already left the family in financial turmoil. Maggie’s mom, Jennifer Therriault, had to leave her job to provide full-time care for her daughter. Their transplant coordination team has suggested the family raise over $50,000 for the six months following the transplant, during which time Maggie and her mother need to relocate to Edmonton.

Therriault said she would’ve lived life differently if she knew a medical emergency was around the corner. “If I could have known to prepare for this — you know what I mean?” she said.

“It’s a life lesson. You might make different choices if you knew you (had) to come up with $50,000.”

The ordeal also prompted others in the family to be screened for gallstones, which are hereditary. That’s when doctors discovered Maggie’s younger sister Olivia had a tumour along her spine. The sisters had back-to-back to surgeries a week apart this past June. Olivia’s condition is continuing to be monitored.

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The province’s organ and tissue donation service, Give Life Alberta, reported a record number of donations last year, with 317 donations made in 2024. According to Alberta Health Services, it’s estimated more than 500 people are waiting for transplants in Alberta alone.

Just 1 to 2 per cent of people are eligible as potential organ donors at the time of their deaths, according to AHS. In Alberta, dozens of people die every year while waiting for a transplant.

The family is still processing the idea that a lost life could save Maggie’s.

“We deal with the loss of a loved one to save a loved one. It’s a strange experience. I can’t even describe,” said Therriault.

A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help raise support. Tax reciepts are also offered by donating through the family’s church. E-transfers can be sent to [email protected].

— with files from Isabella Finn