It took about 115 bags of blood to keep Cpl. Darren Fitzpatrick alive for two weeks after an IED severely injured him in 2010 while he was serving in Afghanistan.
When he awoke in a German hospital with critical injuries, the 21-year-old soldier told his family he had one wish: to die at home in Edmonton.
He was transported back to Canada and on March 20, 2010, he passed away.
Fitzpatrick’s family is now working with troops who served alongside him to raise the same amount of blood that kept him alive for those last 14 days.
“If it hadn’t have been for that blood, we wouldn’t have had that opportunity to say goodbye to him,” his father, Jim Fitzpatrick, told CTV Edmonton.
The three-day blood drive kicked off Thursday at the Canadian Blood Services building in Edmonton, where dozens of soldiers and loved ones showed up to honour Fitzpatrick’s memory with blood donations.
It’s expected they’ll reach the 115 donations in short order.
“There were 162 (soldiers) who immediately put their hands up and said, ‘I’d like to donate on behalf of Darren Fitzpatrick,’” said Tyler Falt, a soldier with the Third Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
His mother says that it’s a fitting tribute to her son, who she described as “mischievous” and “well-loved.”
“Darren was a very caring type of individual and this would’ve been exactly what he would’ve wanted,” said his mother, Colleen Fitzpatrick.
Edmontonians came together after Darren’s death to show their support for the young soldier. Police and firefighters marched with his hearse in a downtown procession, and hundreds packed a massive church for his public funeral.
He was later buried in his hometown of Prince George, B.C.
Fitzpatrick was the 141st casualty of Canada's mission in Afghanistan.
With files from CTV Edmonton and the Canadian Press
