The day before Dann Konkin’s birthday in June 2023, his son Ben called from his hospital bed at Vancouver General Hospital and said he had an early birthday present for his dad - Ben was getting a new pair of lungs.
“Ben had been waiting a long time with a lot of ups and downs so it was really special when he called with the news,” recalls Dann. “It was Ben’s last chance to have some quality of life. But what we didn’t know and what we know now is his heart was already working overtime because his weak lungs were putting so much stress on them.”
Along with Ben’s family, a documentary crew was also right there at his side, following his transplant journey. It was important to Ben to share his story to help raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. Even when things took a turn for the worse, he let his family know he wanted to continue with the documentary, regardless of the outcome.
“Ben called me at work one day and said, ‘By the way, I was contacted by the Knowledge Network and they are doing a documentary series on people going through organ transplants,’” says Dann. “Then he went on to say he was going to participate because he wasn’t sure what was going to happen to him with this disease, and if this could help others, he thought it was important. We were absolutely in total support of Ben’s decision.”
Before his health started failing, Ben was known as the life of the party. He had a lot of energy and was always active. He played soccer and baseball, swam and skied.
Dann chuckles as he shares, “Back in those days, we had the discussion as to whether or not we should put a helmet on the kids. Well, I knew Ben was that type of daredevil who would go over a hill or jump that he wouldn’t be able to navigate properly, so I always put a helmet on him.”
When the weather warmed up, Ben and his cousins would congregate around his aunt’s backyard pool in North Vancouver. They loved it when Dann would come by after work and hold out the pool skimmer like a high jump pole. All the kids took turns trying to jump or dive over it, and of course, Ben was the most competitive.
In high school, Ben did some courses in auto mechanics and fell in love. He could take a car apart and put it back together again without hesitation. He loved driving cars, the faster the better. Even when he was feeling really sick, he would somehow find the energy to go to the race track.
“I went on a ride with him once and I had to tell him to slow down,” smiles Dann. “Ben just laughed and told me he could go even faster.”
It was on the golf course when Dann and Ben had the first conversation about something going on with Ben’s health. Ben had white tape around his wrist and told his dad he had some pain, maybe it was arthritis. He did see a doctor and there was an initial diagnosis, but only later would Ben get the correct diagnosis.
Shortly after that, Ben got married to the love of his life Julia and they moved from North Vancouver to Kelowna. Ben had a successful career in sales, they bought a home, enjoyed traveling, and were planning their future together.
But the pain and symptoms got worse. Finally, Ben found out he had diffuse systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma. It is a rare connective tissue disorder that causes the immune system to attack the skin and tissues under it, including blood vessels and major organs. There is no known cause or cure. Ben was told his lifespan was maybe 10 or 11 years.
Over time, his skin became very tough and mottled, the disease permeated his internal tissues and started attacking his organs.
“Ben was really struggling and he and Julia asked if we could come up on the weekends. Julia had quit her job and was looking after Ben 24/7. So someone in our family would go up to Kelowna every weekend to try and give her a break,” says Dann.
In January 2023, Ben was assessed at VGH for a lung transplant. By that point, everyone knew a transplant was Ben’s only hope for survival. The emotional rollercoaster that follows is documented in episode three of Transplant Stories.
Dann remarks, “One of the things I really appreciated in the documentary was when they showed photographs of Ben when he was well. For people who didn’t know him, they would think he struggled all his life. Ben was 6’3” and 250 pounds when he got sick. When he passed away, he was 130 pounds. Seeing what the disease did to him was crushing.”
On July 1, 2023, Ben received his double-lung transplant. It was a bittersweet day for Ben and his family.
“We were very thankful to our donor family for allowing Ben to have a second chance and better quality of life. It was pretty emotional,” comments Dann. “We knew that another life was lost to give Ben this chance. We were hoping it would give him a few more years, and that’s what we held onto…that hope.”
Unfortunately, Ben was so sick by the time he received his transplant, his body just wasn’t able to recover. He fought hard for five months in the Intensive Care Unit at VGH. When he passed away on November 21, 2023, he was surrounded by loved ones. Ben Konkin was 42 years old.
A year later, ‘Transplant Stories’ premiered on the Knowledge Network. At first, some members of the family didn’t want to attend the screening event, but Dann spoke up, reminding everyone that this was what Ben wanted. So they all went to be there for Ben, as a family.
“I know Ben would have been really proud of the documentary. I think it achieved exactly what he wanted. Not everything goes perfectly planned for transplants and that’s life, you have to deal with it,” says Dann. “But hope has so much power and you have to have hope.”
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Organ donation is a big decision. Learn more about how you can potentially save a life at
7facts.ca and when you’re ready, register your decision on organ donation with B.C.’s Organ Donor Registry at
registeryourdecision.ca.
