Very few of us are forced to endure what Tom Fortune has – both physically and emotionally.

He’s sunk to a low most of us would have difficulty understanding. But the high Tom recently experienced, and, more importantly, reached, will certainly be a welcoming message to his many family and friends. And mostly to himself.

A couple weeks back, Tom, along with sons Trey and Jack, set off to tackle the trail off Spartan St. Their goal was the water tower. It’s not a strenuous climb for most people. It used to be for Tom Fortune. But not anymore.

You see, Tom Fortune underwent a double lung transplant July 1. Undergoing the procedure saved his life.

“I can now breath!” Tom quickly pointed out during a recent sit down to chat about an eight-year ordeal he hopes is behind him thanks to his ‘new’ lungs. “I don’t have (to carry) oxygen. I can get out and do a lot of things. I can climb. The recovery has been longer and harder than I expected. But, it’s coming.”

It all began in the spring of 2009. Tom started getting short of breath, finding stuff hard to do, and started losing weight. He remembers being at a hockey game, and the exact moment he knew things weren’t right. He travelled to St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver in May, had a lung biopsy, and was diagnosed with Scleroderma. The disease is rare in men, and it takes all the elasticity out of your lungs. The lungs harden, and don’t function properly. He went on oxygen, and continued working at NAPA in Oliver, despite the fact he was forced to carry an oxygen tank with him.

“They started me on an experimental chemotherapy after the trip to St. Paul’s because they didn’t think I had more than six months to live,” recalls Tom, his thoughts obviously slipping back to what would be the darkest time of his life.

It was at that point, the Fortune’s began talking to the transplant clinic for answers. But he was declined because experts felt he was too sick to survive the procedure. Tom remembers trying to do the best he could to allow for a normal family life for wife Teresa, and sons Jamie, Jack and Trey – all hockey players and sports minded. It wasn’t easy helping out.

But then, Tom’s fortunes turned.

“When they put me on chemotherapy is really when it halted the spread of the disease, or stabilized it,” recalls Tom. “I started to stabilize in 2010. I was pretty functional for quite a while. I worked, I got the boys to hockey, and I golfed. There was no real remission. But it halted.”

However, the drugs took their toll on Tom’s body. He was put on the transplant list in 2012. He stayed there for 27 months.

Then, miraculously, he got ‘the call’.

It came June 30.

“I was driving home,” remembers Tom, 53. “I pulled over and answered the phone. They told me. I was a wreck. I just sat there by the side of the road. I thought I was so prepared for the call. But I wasn’t.”

The surgery lasted eight-and-a-half hours – a nervous time for Teresa and the couple’s three sons – all of whom were in the waiting room.

Tom came through surgery successfully – and now climbs mountains.

“The last time I did that was eight years ago,” said Tom, referring back to that hike a couple weeks ago. “And it hurt. It was hard. I walked up that distance, and it wasn’t my lungs that were bothering me, It was my legs and everything else.

“But I can breath.”

And that’s provided the Fortune family with a whole new outlook on life.

“These are the years we thought we’d be spending more time golfing and other things, and we haven’t been able to do that. That’s the part of our relationship I’m looking forward to,” said Teresa of their 22-year marriage and 26-year relationship. “When Tom and I first got together our common interests were sports. We played ball, we cross-country skied. We golfed. Tom played hockey. We always did sports together.”

Back on Oct. 1, a fundraiser was held at Oliver Curling Club to help out the Fortune family. The money raised will help with the many expenses, from travel to drugs.

“It was really appreciated, said Tom. “It was humbling.” 

There are still regular trips to Vancouver for check-ups, but Tom appears to be on the road to recovery. The family’s fortunes have certainly reached a new high. All you have to do is look up the mountain for proof.

-Dale Cory