Neither Dan Paxton nor Drayden Schultz have fully functioning hearts, but that doesn't stop them from continuing to live life to its fullest.
Paxton, 68, has had two heart attacks in recent years but still stays as active has he possibly can. Drayden, 10, was born with a congenital heart defect and needed three open-heart surgeries in his first three years of life, yet he still takes part in the same activities as all of his friends.
Both understand their conditions do come with some limitations, but they've found ways to work around those challenges without compromising their quality of life.
"The doctors have been fantastic," Paxton said. "They always say you don't stop living, you just have to be smarter."
For Paxton that has meant some diet modification - he's eating less red meat now and is having smaller portions of food - and he's tweaked his exercise regime to focus less on heavy lifting. He can still do everyday yard work, but he no longer does his own snow removal.
In Drayden's case, he knows that he doesn't have the same endurance as some of his friends so he takes breaks when he needs to and is sure to get enough sleep each night.
Cold weather poses a challenge for Drayden as his condition means his lips sometimes turn a shade of purple in the winter, a sign that it's time to come inside and warm up.
"I don't even notice it," he said. "Sometimes my lips will turn purple and I don't even feel cold."
Drayden was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He had his first heart surgery when he was just three days old. Along with subsequent procedures at three months and three years of age, he still goes in for annual checkups, but his prognosis is great.
"He's done better than what they ever expected," Drayden's mother Ronda said. "They said from the beginning, since he was born that he doesn't fit the mold as a typical hypoplastic kid."
Children born with Drayden's condition don't have a fully functional left ventricle. When people ask him about what that means, he matter of factly replies that he has half a heart.
While it's possible he could require a heart transplant one day, doctors have told Drayden it's not likely at this point because he's doing so well.
"[The doctors] said never to hold him back from doing anything, so I've never treated him any differently," Ronda said. "He knows his own limits. He knows he can't run as long as the other kids, he can run but he just doesn't have the same endurance."
Drayden swims, bikes, skateboards and is as active as any other child his age. He even lists gym class as one of his favourite subjects in school.
Of course, there have been times when Drayden's heart condition has prevented him from doing something he wanted to do. During an otherwise great trip to California two years ago, sponsored by the Children's Wish Foundation, he was prevented from going on all the attractions.
"The rides I was wanting to go on, the kids with half a heart couldn't go on," he said.
Paxton's first brush with a heart problem came six years ago when he was living in Vancouver. First he felt sick to his stomach, then his face started to turn an odd, gray-like colour. He quickly decided he should go to the hospital to get checked out.
Paxton had an angioplasty procedure to widen his arteries and had two stents placed to help his heart function more effectively.
After retiring from his job as a customs officer, Paxton moved to Prince George with his wife Dianne in 2008. He was doing well with his recovery until he decided to play in a fun teachers and coaches versus students basketball game at Immaculate Conception school in March.
"I probably exerted more energy that I should have and by the end of the game I was aching right up the middle of my chest," he said, noting in hindsight it was probably a poor decision to suit up.
Despite the chest pain, Paxton first went home and had a shower, but when the pain persisted Dianne encouraged him to go the hospital where doctors diagnosed a mild heart attack.
The heart attack kept him from coaching the Grade 7 girls' team from Immaculate Conception in a tournament later that day.
"The kids went on to win the tournament and came to the hospital and gave me my gold medal," Paxton recalled. "I became at big star at the hospital - the greatest coach alive according to the nurses - it was one of the most touching things I've ever experienced in my life."
He was at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. for a week before getting transferred to Vancouver to have another stent put in and has been recovering ever since.
Paxton has learned his lesson from the basketball game and has vowed to stay off the court in the future, but with his physician's permission he's hoping to get back into the gym soon to get back into shape.
Drayden doesn't remember but when he was a baby doctors asked his family to bring him in so a group of medical students could try to diagnose his condition as part of a classroom exercise. Since moving to Prince George, Drayden has also used his condition to help students in the Northern Medical Program.
Educating others about heart health is important to both of them. In Paxton's case, he's been vocal to friends and colleagues about getting checked out and following doctors' directions.
"A person who is stubborn about stuff like this is a total fool," Paxton said. "It's not fair to your family, it's not fair to your friends and it's not even fair to yourself. A heart attack can seriously slow you right down."
