Saint Michael High School teacher a passionate advocate for organ and tissue donation

Kidney transplant recipient from Niagara encourages people to register as donors

Apr 04, 2019 by Alison Langley The Niagara Falls Review

nfreview 040419 Krista Connor didn't plan on becoming an advocate for organ and tissue donation.

A number of years ago, the Niagara teacher began discussing the importance of donation with her students at Saint Michael High School.

At the time, her father, who had polycystic kidney disease, had undergone two kidney transplants.

She decided to share her story with students to show them how the transplants had given her father precious extra time with family and friends, time that wouldn't have been possible if not for the "two life-saving gifts he was given."

The Ridgeway mother of two later discovered she had inherited the same genetic condition from her father.

Connor received dialysis treatment at Niagara Health's dialysis units in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines for about a year and then did dialysis at home.

"It is such a big part of your life," she said of the treatment. "It's such a daunting task."

As she went into renal failure, her name was put on a transplant waiting list.

Her husband and mother underwent tests to determine if they could donate a kidney but were told they're weren't compatible.

March: Month in Review

Heading to OFSAA!

smchs 030519

Senior Mustang Hockey Team is going to OFSAA! Congrats to the SOSSA Champs!! #horsepower

February: Month in Review

February Month end video from Saint Michael Mustangs on Vimeo.

2008 Mustangs join Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame

BP Sports - By Bernie Puchalski - January 29, 2019

The Saint Michael Mustangs boys soccer team’s 2008 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association championship still resonates with keeper Mario Trapasso.

“I think about it all the time; the memories of my friends and I winning the championship,” said the 28-year-old Sunday, following the team’s induction into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame.

Of all the memories, the championship victory over the host team from Sarnia stands out the most for Trapasso.

“At the end of the last game, everyone ran on to the field and then we received the awards and medals,” he said.

The Mustangs finished the championship game a man down after an ejection and they ended up winning the match on penalty kicks.

On the way to the school’s first-ever OFSAA gold medal, Saint Michael also won the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association final and its OFSAA quarter-final game on penalty kicks.

Trapasso admits being the last line of defence against penalty kicks in an OFSAA gold medal game was a challenging experience for a teenager.

“It was nerve-wracking, for sure, but you have to put the nerves aside and hope for the best.”

It was the team’s heart that made it so special, Trapasso said.

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