Under the knife: The stories beneath the scars

More than two million surgeries are performed every year in Canada, and behind every cut, stitch, or scar - there's a story. On this episode we're getting into the ripple effects of going under the knife, for better or for worse.

When Gilles Landreville noticed a small cut on his foot, he couldn’t have known that a week later, he’d be waking up in hospital, missing two-thirds of his left leg. But as Gilles adjusts to life in a new body, he’s also finding a new identity: Gilles 2.0, an update that refuses to let his circumstances bring him down—and is determined to help other people navigate tough changes too. 

Ashley Hiebert wants to celebrate her 10 year anniversary of donating a kidney to a stranger, by doing it again: this time, she's donating part of her liver to someone she's never met. The only thing standing in her way isn't fear, it's finances.

How does performing surgery change you? Hear from second-year medical student Samuel Bonne, pediatric surgeon Dr. Tito Daodu, and thoracic surgeon Dr. Ikennah Browne about the experiences in the OR that changed them.

For some reason vasectomies are the butt of many jokes, but for 26-year-old Daniel McIntyre-Ridd, choosing to get one before ever having children was no laughing matter. 

Janessa Fitchett has always been good with her hands. She planned to combine welding and art to create big things. But an accident at work changed everything.

When Marie and Erik Matchett travelled to India to adopt their daughter Norah, they knew she had a bilateral cleft lip and palate — but they didn’t yet know the extent of the surgeries she’d need or how they’d calm their nervous little girl during hospital visits. That’s when Big Brave Norah came into play, a nickname that’s inspired confidence in more kids than they imagined.