There are still times humanity rules. And arguably the best and most wonderful story of 2021 has taken place in Canada.
The mother of St. Louis Blues star Ryan O’Reilly and former NHL player Cal, who currently with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, gave. In a way, few can to those who give so much toward making athletes into pros.
On Wednesday, Bonnie O’Reilly donated one of her kidneys to Graham Nesbitt, who is 65 and managed the arena in their community, located an hour north of London,
We want to say get well soon to Bonnie O'Reilly, who is recovering from surgery today after donating a kidney to a family friend.
That friend would often open the town rink early so Ryan and his brother, Cal, could skate when they were kids.
Way to go, Bonnie! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/3MFSMhAyJy
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 4, 2021
Nesbitt would open the doors on snow days or after regular hours so scores of local kids could skate. The transplant surgery took place in London, and both Nesbitt and O’Reilly are recovering well.
“They’d call and say, ‘Is there any way we can get onto the ice before school?'” recalls Graham’s son, Joe Nesbitt. “He’d have the arena open at 6:30 a.m. so people could skate. He just wanted kids to be active and busy, not getting into trouble. It was his outlet as a kid and he wanted to pass it on.”
Nesbitt was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, also known as Berger’s disease, in 2011. Medication helped control the condition until 2019, when it became clear he’d need a kidney transplant.
Enter Bonnie O’Reilly, who was a match.
“She says that ‘What you’ve done for my boys, helping them achieve their goal of playing professional hockey, it’s the least we can do,'” Joe Nesbitt said, quoting O’Reilly. “My dad is just blown away by this.”