Kidney-transplant recipient missed chance to see Drake in Vancouver | Daily Hive

Kidney-transplant recipient missed chance to see Drake after technical mistake

Submitted by Tonya Sabourin | @champagnepapi/Instagram

Last night was disappointing for thousands of Drake fans after his show at Roger’s Arena was postponed. However, it was especially devastating to a 15-year-old girl recovering from a kidney transplant who lost her chance to attend her first concert, which she’d been looking forward to for months.

Tonya Sabourin told Daily Hive her family had planned a trip from Edmonton to Vancouver four months ago after her daughter’s post-transplant surgery in April.

While her daughter Quin was recovering at home, the tickets they purchased for the Drake show kept her excited.

“Drake was a big, big deal for her,” Sabourin said. “It was the one fun thing … this summer.”

Just three weeks before the show, Quin underwent another surgery to help improve the outcome of her transplant. However, due to complications, Quin had a blood infection, which required her to stay in the hospital for two weeks.

“We were sitting on the edge of potentially losing the opportunity to come to see Drake, which was important for her,” her mother said.

So, her family hung posters and pictures for Drake in hopes it would “manifest this trip and get her healed up enough so that they can discharge her from the hospital.”

Submitted by Tonya Sabourin

Submitted by Tonya Sabourin

All their wishes seemed to be coming true when Quin was released from the hospital.

Quin and her family flew into Metro Vancouver on August 25 and, on Monday, headed to downtown Vancouver with her older sister to attend the Drake concert.

However, like all the other hopeful attendees, she was told the show was postponed just hours before the concert “due to unforeseen circumstances with the newly-installed videoboard at Rogers Arena.” The venue added that Monday’s Drake performance would be on Wednesday, August 30 instead.

Quin said at first, she didn’t believe it, but when the heartbreaking news set in, “I was super upset most of the night.”

“It was devastating for everybody, but it was tripply devastating for her,” her mother said. “She hasn’t had any fun this summer. She’s been fighting for her life essentially in a lot of ways, and this was going to be her really one big thing to help her be motivated to do her best to try and aid in her healing and come out and have fun before she goes back to school next week.”

While the concert was postponed to Wednesday, Sabourin said, “It’s almost next to impossible” to extend their trip since they have a flight to catch to head back home on Tuesday.

Additionally, Quin does not have enough medication for a longer trip.

Sabourin added that had the concert venue given Drake fans 24 hours’ notice, she could have made some alterations to their plan, like rescheduling Quin’s appointments and finding a way to courier her medication.

Quin explained that just a few weeks ago, she didn’t think she was going to make it, but she was looking forward to attending an event that didn’t revolve around her health.

“Quin says it’s just every time she kind of thinks that she’s got one foot ahead of the next, something gets ripped away from her. And this was kind of a thing that we really hoped would make her feel like a normal kid,” Sabourin added.

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Quin’s family is crossing their fingers, hoping that the teenager will be able to attend an upcoming Drake concert.

“I would love for him or somebody attached to him to see if they can get her out to Toronto.”

After Vancouver, Drake will perform in Toronto in October for his last two Canadian shows at Scotiabank Arena.

“I know [the show is in] October, but at least we could plan for that,” Sabourin said. “We barely got here to begin with.”