Correction
This story erroneously said that Brad Smoliak was lead chef for Team Canada at two Olympics. In fact, he was lead chef for the Alberta venue at two Olympics. The Gazette apologizes for this error.
There’s a piercing screech in this spotless white kitchen as retired chef Brad Smoliak plugs batteries into an artificial heart.
“That’s how I start every morning,” he said.
Soon, the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) is pumping away in its water-filled jar. He has a device just like it in his chest.
“It makes great cocktails, too!” he joked.
Smoliak, who grew up in St. Albert and served as lead chef for the Alberta venue at two Olympics, was talking about his artificial heart at #42, 5 Rondeau Drive on Feb. 21 to kick off the 31st annual Full House Lottery. The popular fundraiser gives Albertans a chance to support the Royal Alex and University of Alberta hospitals and win thousands of dollars in prizes.
This year’s lottery features two luxury homes as grand prizes, said University Hospital Foundation chief financial officer Roseanne Carey: a $1.3 million home in southwest Edmonton and the $1.2 million executive townhouse at #42, 5 Rondeau Dr. in St. Albert. (You can also collect $1 million if you win, but don't want, one of the houses.) Other prizes include a $550,000 condo in Kelowna, B.C., luxury cars, exotic trips, brunch for a month, and a train robbery adventure. If you’re not interested in any of those, you can also enter a 50/50 draw or the Big Summer Bucks contest for cash prizes.
Carey said this was the first time that the lottery has placed one of its grand prize homes in St. Albert — a choice made to reflect the many area residents served by the U of A and Royal Alex hospitals.
The three-level, 3,323 square foot home (which is open for tours Wednesday through Sunday) features three bedrooms, two roof terraces, a giant bathtub, a games room, plenty of light, and a third-floor loft with a view of neighbourhood.
“I definitely could see myself working in that place,” Carey said of the loft.
Carey said ticket sales from the Full House Lottery have given the Royal Alex and U of A hospital foundations about $100 million for research and patient care which has financed devices such as the U of A’s gamma knife (which zaps tumours with precision gamma rays). This year’s lottery could raise $5.5 million if it sells out.
High-tech help
Smoliak said he is alive today thanks to the staff and technology of the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute — one of the many places supported by the lottery. Back in 2018, he was diagnosed with congenital heart failure and told he would die without a heart transplant — an operation he would not survive.
“At that time, I was told there was no real hope,” he said.
But doctors at the Mazankowski came up with an idea to stick an LVAD in his chest. Connected to a computer on his belly and batteries near his hips, the LVAD has a centrifugal pump that spins at 6,800 RPMs to pump his blood. Five years later, he and it are still going strong.
“I have no pulse and I have no blood pressure,” he said (the LVAD provides constant blood flow), but he can do anything he likes except water sports.
“It enables me to live a normal life.”
Smoliak encouraged Albertans to contribute to the Royal Alex and U of A hospital foundations through the Full House Lottery, as when it comes to hospital care, it’s a matter of when, not if, you or a loved one will need it.
“To be able to walk into one of these world-class facilities and be helped and get better and enjoy life has just been a real gift,” he said.
Tickets to the main Full House Lottery are $100. Big Summer Bucks and 50/50 tickets are $15 and $20, respectively. Final prize draws for all three contests are on May 9. Visit fullhouse.ca for details and tickets.
