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Love straight from heart and kidney

The Okotoks Dawgs biggest fan has something special for the love of his life on Feb. 14. “I am going to get her a Valentine's card that says: “Every time I pee, I think of you,'” said Grant Sullivan. The card comes straight from the heart.
Grant Sullivan and Silvia Corsini enjoy a pre-Valentine’s Day kiss on Feb. 5. Silvia donated a kidney to her husband of more than 30 years last September
Grant Sullivan and Silvia Corsini enjoy a pre-Valentine’s Day kiss on Feb. 5. Silvia donated a kidney to her husband of more than 30 years last September

The Okotoks Dawgs biggest fan has something special for the love of his life on Feb. 14.

“I am going to get her a Valentine's card that says: “Every time I pee, I think of you,'” said Grant Sullivan.

The card comes straight from the heart.

Okotoks Dawgs would have noticed the gregarious Grant didn't take his familiar spot on the home-team's dugout spelling out “YMCA' last summer. However, thanks to his wife, he might be out there again.

Grant is on the mend after a successful kidney transplant in September. He got the kidney from his wife of 31 years, Silvia Corsini.

Silvia made sure she gave Grant something besides her kidney minutes before the surgery on Sept. 7.

“I was in the waiting room and suddenly they wheel Grant in, I was so excited because I could see him,” Silvia said. “I went over and kissed him.”

The transplant is the latest in a relationship that has brought them even closer together in three decades.

The Sullivans were married in 1985, about eight years after they met at a church choir in Montreal.

“She had heard me sing a song that I had written, so she knew I had a redeeming quality,” Grant said with a smile. “The catch was she knew I was going to the seminary, so she only had to put up with me for six months.”

The seminary didn't work out, and after a brief courtship, Grant swept her off feet with a proposal Telus would appreciate.

“I called her up one day and said: “Would you marry me?' and she said: “I think I am going to be sick – I think I am going to throw-up,''' Grant said. “Our story is so romantic.”

Like the Expos (Grant could see the lights of Jarry Park while growing up), the Sullivans would leave Montreal.

Almost 20 years later the Sullivans had moved to Okotoks and in 2013, Grant found out he had advanced kidney disease.

Not long after Grant found out that he would needed a kidney in the future.

“Grant started asking people: “Hey do you got a kidney,'” Silvia said with a chuckle. “I had cancer eight years ago, and I didn't think I would be able to donate – I couldn't even donate blood.”

She has O-positive blood, making her a fit. After a series of tests, she found out she is one of the few people who were able to donate a kidney to a spouse. Grant said there is a five per cent chance of a spouse being able to give to his or her partner.

Silvia had to go through a series of tests before she got the go ahead.

However, something weird happened. Grant got healthy enough not to need a transplant.

They celebrated with a holiday.

“In January (2016), we went to Hawaii and when we got back, Grant's numbers started to drop and he needed the transplant,” Silvia said.

“Fortunately, I had most of the tests done, so I didn't have to go through all of that again.”

The successful transplant wasn't the first time Silvia had saved Grant.

She answered Grant's prayers after he left the seminary in 1982. He turned to the bottle and the bong.

“I was a drug addict,” Grant said. “It was pot and alcohol, which is enough to screw you up if it's 24/7. She stuck by me through all of it… She never said: “Look what you are doing to me? It was never about her, it was always about me.”

Grant hasn't had a drop or a puff in a quarter of century.

Grant also battles with agoraphobia, which is having difficulty in open spaces.

“To go outside by myself is a real challenge, but if I am with people, I'm fine – that's why at the ballpark I thrive,” Grant said. “You wouldn't know at the ballpark I have depression problems.

“What happens to people with agoraphobia is if they are with a safe person, they can go anywhere. Silvia is my safe person.”

She has been more than Grant's safe person since they sang hymns together in Montreal.

“She is my everything,” Grant said. “People throw around the word “soul-mates' but I don't think either one of us could have married someone else.”

Silvia agreed.

“He brings fun to my life – he makes me laugh,” she said with a laugh.

“Grant is also an incredible chef. His cookies are incredible.

“I just love him – I love him to death.”

It is a relationship where they make each other better, especially with Silvia's gift of a life-saving kidney.

“I figured I gave him all the good qualities now,” she said with a laugh.

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