Cross-Canada trek rejuvenated here

A cross-Canada trek to promote organ donor awareness has been rejuvenated after a five-day break in Fort Frances.
“We are addressing a very important problem in this country–we are addressing a shortage of tissue and organ donations,” said George Marcello, who left Tuesday for Dryden after arriving in town on foot last Wednesday afternoon.
Marcello has spent the past 210 days walking into towns and cities in Ontario as part of his campaign.
He arrived in Fort Frances escorted by a “Hummer,” an O.P.P. escort, and a group of Fort Frances residents. Together, the group carried a lit torch from La Place Rendez-Vous to the Civic Centre, where Mayor Glenn Witherspoon, who also made the walk, presented Marcello with commemorative insignia for his efforts.
“It’s an excellent cause,” noted Lawrence Allan, who received a kidney transplant last year and joined in the walk here.
“I received an angel in the form of my daughter,” he noted.
Marcello’s “Step by Step” campaign hit a rough patch before arriving in Fort Frances, where participation has given his trek a significant boost.
“It’s sort of a resurrection because when we arrived in Thunder Bay, I lost my road crew and we were running out of money,” noted Marcello.
While here, Marcello raised in excess of $1,500 and added two local youths to his road crew.
Fort High students Branda Avis and Brandon Morrison will be joining the “Step by Step” campaign after finishing their final exams of the semester this week.
“I want to get young people involved so this generation can be more accepting of transplants,” Marcello stressed. “We do a lot of schools when we’re through towns and it’s going to be an excellent example for kids to see them
“We’re helping to save people’s lives and they’re going to be on board to help out.”
The cross-Canada trek is scheduled to pass through communities between here and the West Coast, then head over to Europe for a meeting with the Pope, and then continue from Saint John’s, Nfld. through the Maritimes and back to Toronto, where the trip kicked off.
“We have another 400 cities and towns to visit so that we can get people to become organ donors and it’s going to be a lot of hard work to be out there,” Marcello admitted.
Marcello already has met with Ontario Premier Mike Harris, and hopes to meet with other provincial leaders across the country as well as Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Marcello also pushing for a national donor registry to facilitate pre-authorized organ donations during a time of grief for families of the deceased.
After being told by doctors he only had days to live, Marcello received a liver donation–a turn of events which has prompted him to take on the cause.
“It’s probably one of the strongest reasons,” he said. “Five years ago, I was rushed to the hospital and told I had liver failure and . . . I only had two days to live.
“When that day came, I’d kind of counted my blessings. I felt I was a very fortunate Canadian because most Canadians don’t get that call.
“There’s presently almost 4,000 on a waiting list and many of them won’t get a call,” he noted.