Eva Markvoort, whose heartbreaking battle with cystic fibrosis was chronicled in the documentary 65_RedRoses, would have been 26 today.
She lost her battle with the disease on Saturday. The legacy she leaves is one of hope. How many more people are organ donors because of the awareness she raised? How many more funds were raised? It would be impossible to measure because her impact was so widespread. Through her blog she touched people all over the world.
I never knew her, but like everyone who has seen 65_RedRoses, I fell in love with her charisma, her determination, her positivity.
65_RedRoses is returning to CBC’s Passionate Eye this Friday, April 2nd at 8pm (ET) / 5pm (PT). For those of you in the States, the directors are currently talking to broadcasters and will hopefully have an air date soon. For those of you in other parts of the world, I will let you know as soon as I do how you too can watch the film.
Want to honour Eva’s legacy? Become an organ donor (in BC visit British Columbia Transplant, in Ontario visit Ontario’s Organ and Tissue Donation Agency, in other provinces and states, Google “Organ Donation”), donate in Eva’s name to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and join the Reddy for a Cure group on Facebook.
Photo by Cyrus McEachern.
