Sudbury's Steve Matusch reflects on his second shot at life — thanks to his brother-in-law

Steve Matusch will probably be saying thank you for the rest of his life — and it could be a much longer life than he once expected thanks to his brother-in-law, Monty Gillard. 

Matusch had been given between 18 months to two years to live due to a rare and aggressive form of cancer called cholangiocarcinoma.

"To be quite blunt about it," Matusch said in an interview with CBC News, "I met with a doctor here who said that nothing can be done."

But that wasn't the case. 

After some research, Matusch found out he was eligible for a new Canadian co-trial with American facilities in Toronto. The procedure was a rare, live liver transplant.

The trouble: he would need a live donor. 

"When the doctors told me that I needed a live donor, to be honest, I was quite depressed ... I thought, geez, that's not something I could ever ask of anybody," said Matusch. 

'Almost in tears'

To his surprise, when he finally did share his story with a friend in the running community, the friend said, "sign me up" — meaning he would be tested as a possible transplant candidate. 

"I teared-up. I really didn't know what to say," said Matusch of that immediate, profound and unexpected response. 

It wasn't long before Matusch's wife and sister posted his story online, and more offers to help came in. 

"You know, I was it was a tough week," he said. "I'm not an emotional person... but I spent the better part of that weekend almost in tears because I had a number of people come forward and offer."

"It was an experience I could never adequately put into words."

'It just felt like the right thing to do'

As Matusch's wife and sister scoured the internet, his brother-in-law, Monty Gillard, was thinking, "[what] if I put the shoe on the other foot?"

"This is my wife's brother, my mother and father-in-law's oldest son," he said. "This is a guy with two children that are still teenagers and [he] deserves to see them succeed in the way that they will." 

"So you know, tie that all together and it just felt like the right thing to do."

Gillard said for some reason, he knew right away that he would be a match and be Matusch's donor. 

"It was a very calm and confident feeling I had that this would all work out," he said. 

As it turned out, Gillard's hunch was right: he was a match. 

The pair went into tandem surgery in Toronto, with one team of surgeons working next door to another team. 

Doctors had to be sure that Matusch's cancer hadn't spread before they could continue with the liver transplant, but the news was good and the surgery was a go. 

Gillard recalls getting the word: "I just remember sitting there ... I was just perfectly calm, and then they came and got me and they started wheeling me in."

"And everybody's telling me what a great thing I was doing," he continued. "And then it was counting down, and [then] I went to sleep."

'Surreal'

When he woke up, he was still groggy from the anesthetic and pain medication — and  he was lighter by two-thirds of a liver.   

"I think I broke into a cover version of Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb'," he said with a laugh. 

For Matusch, the surgery was much longer and more complicated. But when he woke up about 12 hours later, a doctor told him he had a new liver. 

"It was surreal," he said. "No other way to describe it."

'It changes you'

Both of the men are now recevering nicely, and they're reflecting on how the experience has changed them. 

"It's sort of a call into action," said Gillard.  "Now that I know all about this [need out there], I really think that I want to spread the word. I want people to know that there's a lot of people like Steve, sitting there waiting for something to happen so they can be saved."

"You could be a living person and help and then still go on with your daily life."

For Matusch, the experience was both humbling and profoundly emotional. 

"I've always been very independent person," he said. "But when you get into a circumstance [like mine] you realize that your life is is wholly dependent upon the kindness of others, [and] in a way it kind of brings you closer to the community."

"It changes you in the sense that you really want to give back a lot to the community... I'm more forgiving person, a more emotional person, a more considerate person. It changes you in a lot of ways."

'I could ever thank him enough'

Asked whether he's thanked his brother-in-law:

"Over and over and over," he said. "You know, the guy saved my life. I don't know how to describe that."

"My whole goal out of this was to see my kids grow up and really that's it," Matusch continued. "That's what I've been hoping for out of this and he's given me that opportunity. There's no way— no way — I could ever thank him enough for that."