Organ Donation Angel

Just wanted to post about a story I just read on Yahoo! about a girl from Atlanta who received a kidney from a stranger. The donor saw the little girl's face on a flyer and after talking it over with her husband decided to donate a kidney to her. The donor operation took place at Emory University Hospital (where I had my transplant) and the recipient operation happened across the street at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

You can read the story by clicking below!

Stranger Donates Kidney to Atlanta Girl

Post #100

This is my 100th post!! It definitely doesn't seem like I have posted that many times. I want to celebrate this by talking about the topic of this blog. That topic is of course, me, but it is also to raise awareness about organ donation.

As we all know, there is a critical shortage of available organs for transplantation. I usually keep an eye on the UNOS website to check the number of people who are waiting for a transplant. All of last week, the number of people on the waiting list was just over 98,000. I checked it just as I was beginning to write this post and saw that it was 97,976.

The number has gone down considerably in the past three or four days. I am confident in saying that a number of people received a life-saving transplant over that time. That much of a drop in the number of people on the list makes me curious as to how many did not receive a transplant. Those patients very possibly died while waiting for a transplant. I am happy that the number of people on the waiting list has gone down. I would love for it to be as low as possible. I want that number to go down because people are living a life they may have only dreamed of after being told that they will need a transplant to continue living at all.

It is said that an average of 18 people a day die while waiting for a life-saving transplant and every 12 minutes another person is added to the waiting list.

Those are disturbing statistics, but there is one that I find most disturbing of all. It is reported that 90 percent of people in the United States support organ donation, but only 30 percent of Americans understand and have taken the steps to become an organ donor. I am not sure why more Americans aren't doing something they believe in.

Different states have different rules as to how you can become an organ donor. Go here to find out how to become an organ donor in your state.

Transplantation works! I am living proof that after having a liver transplant, a person can return to a normal and healthy lifestyle. I am not the only proof though, there are others who have been touched by the miracle too. Some of those are links on the left side of this page, go to their page and read about how transplantation has changed their lives, as well as the lives of their families!

Please become an organ donor! I pray that God will keep those who read this blog safe from harm. If something should happen to you or one of your loved ones, please make sure that everyone knows your wish to become an organ donor. Talk about this issue with your family because they are the ones who will make the decision about your organs.

Couple of Interesting Stories

There has been some pretty big news in the transplant world in the past week. A couple of possible major breakthroughs in research have made organ transplantation without immunosuppressants seem like a real possibility.

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In this article from Yahoo!, an Australian girl who had a liver transplant has miraculously switched blood type. Her body is recognizing her transplanted liver as her own! The girl seems to have had an infection soon after her transplant which allowed stem cells from her new liver to migrate to her bone marrow. This, in essence, gave her a bone marrow transplant which switched her immune system over to that of her donor. This gives new hope to doctors, as well as other transplant patients. Doctors are entertaining the possibility of organ transplantation and a bone marrow transplant that would give patients an organ transplant without the need for immunosuppressants.

Girl switches blood type after liver transplant in first known case: doctors


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This article goes right along with the one above. Doctors are working on the possibilities and effects of a bone marrow transplant given with a transplant.

Doctors Report Transplant Breakthrough


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In this article from The New York Times, scientists have taken a dead rat's heart and stripped it of all its cells. They left the valves and the outer structure for scaffolding for the new cells to build on. They implanted newborn rat heart cells and within two weeks they observed a beating heart which moved a small amount of blood. This shows future promise for organ transplantation and the rebuilding of human organs.

***Ethics questions come to mind for me at this juncture. When do we start playing and assume we are becoming God?

Team Creates Rat Heart Using Cells of Baby Rats


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These are exciting times for transplant patients! Please do not forget that there are a ton of people still waiting for a life saving transplant. Research takes a while to develop and in the meantime many people will receive transplants. Unfortunately, many will die waiting for their life-saving transplant.

Please do not forget to take the opportunity to discuss organ donation with your family. If something should happen to you or some of your family, make sure they know that you want to become an organ donor. There are many people out there who will thank you for your gift, including me. Click on this paragraph if you would like more information about how to become an organ donor.

Amazing Transplant Story

Mom brought home an article last night from a local paper that told of a rare liver transplant. This form of liver transplantation attaches a part of a healthy liver to a diseased liver. The healthy cells take over the diseased cells and eventually makes the entire liver healthy. As far as I could tell this procedure has only been attempted on children up to this point in only one hospital. The amazing thing about this transplant is that there is eventually no need for these recipients to be on lifelong immunosuppressant drugs. As we in the transplant community know, the longterm effects of the immunosuppressant drugs can be as scary as the disease we suffered from before transplant. Lowered immune system, high risk of cancer, rejection, and a possibility of kidney disease, among other things are some of the things that we face. I have heard it said that transplantation is like trading a terminal disease for a manageable one. There are days that it feels just like that too. I am forever grateful for my transplant and the chance that I have been given to live a full life, but to imagine a life without the immunosuppressants is awesome! I hope that this procedure ends up working for these few people to push research. Sounds promising!

In the meantime, don't forget to become an organ donor. There are a lot of people out there who are needing an organ transplant to live just a little while longer. Share your wish to become an organ donor with your family. If you want more information, go to the Donate Life website!

Link to article on Yahoo! ---> Rare liver transplant offers hope

Thankful

I know this is late and probably should have come before Thanksgiving but I just wanted to say thanks to some people and let people know how I have been blessed in my life.

I haven't always looked on the hand that I was dealt with a smile. To be completely honest, for most of my sickness I held an anger inside as to why this had to happen to me. I rarely let that anger show on the outside, and would respond to questions and live life as "PC" as possible. I was angry with God for a period of time (short-lived though) because "this life" was not in my life plan! Things like this happened to other people, not to me!

Today, I look at my life, past, present, and future with a smile. I can see God's hand through everything that I went through. I didn't give Him enough credit in the middle of the battle. At the time I was diagnosed, I was not doing the things that were pleasing to Christ, to my family, to my body, or to my testimony. I do not believe that God gave me PSC because of the way that I was living, but I do know now that it was my ticket out of that life. I only see that in retrospect and there are moments ( I may sound crazy for saying this) where I am thankful for going through the hardships of a terminal liver disease and transplantation.

(I just realized I don't know where I am going with this post, but bear with me.)

I can see where going through the things that I did have brought me closer to God, to my family, to my real self. I don't know what might have happened with my life had things not gone the way that they have, and I really don't care to know. I feel like it may have led to more heartache and more destruction.

Through PSC and my transplant I have met many wonderful and loving people (some only over the web) and those people have brought some great advice, compassion, and encouragement. I have been able to make some old relationships stronger and some new relationships unforgettable. Without the transplant, I would have never met some of these wonderful people and never had the opportunity to make some old relationships worth holding on to.

I am not saying that my life is easy. There are still days that I get down and whine about my situation, but I thank God everyday for the people I have talked to who have helped me. Some things people have done, some things people have said have touched me and helped me more than they will ever know. I hope that in some way that I have made a fraction of the impact that you have made on my life.

I have a wonderful family who have been beside me through this entire chapter of my life. I have great parents and an awesome brother who I know would be beside me no matter what happened. I have friends who have always been there for me to call when I am down with a ready hand to pick me up.

What I am trying to say is that I am blessed beyond words. I thank God everyday for the people who have been a part of my life, allowed me to be a part of their life, had a kind word or deed, and given me a shoulder to cry on. If you are reading this blog and wondering if I am talking about you, I AM!!

Please become an organ donor! A special and direct thank you goes out to my donor family! Without their compassion, I would not be here today able to thank everyone else for this amazing life Jesus has blessed me with. There is not a day that goes by that this family does not cross my mind! I hope one day to meet you and thank you personally for the gift that I was given.

I love all of you!

National Donor Sabbath Month

I haven't been able to be on here too much lately. I have been busy as well as trying to spend less time online. Hopefully soon I will have more to blog about. For now, dont forget that......

National Donor Sabbath Month is in November. This is the month that is set aside with in the organ donation community to encourage people of faith to become organ donors. It is also a time of prayer for those who have donated, will donate, organ recipients, and those that are waiting for a life saving organ transplant.

Don't forget to sign a organ donor card and share your wishes with your family!

October is Liver Awareness Month

I am a little bit late in getting this posted, but along with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is also Liver Awareness Month. Your liver is one of the most important organs in your body and it is important that you take care of it for as long as you use it. For all of my organ donor friends out there, try to think ahead and about the person who might be using it when you are finished with it.

This is also a great month (not that there is a bad one) to think about and discuss organ donation with your family. It is important that you not only sign an organ donation card but you share your thoughts and wishes with your family so they can donate your organs if something (God forbid) happen to you. It is the greatest gift that you can give, other than loving everyone you meet while YOU are here!

Back to Liver Awareness Month, the article below was pulled from CNN.com, and tells some of the wonderful things that your liver does for your body!

Your liver: An owner's guide

From MayoClinic.com Special to CNN.com

The liver is one of your body's largest and most important organs. Located just under your rib cage on the right side of your abdomen, it's about the size of a football, weighs 3 to 4 pounds and performs more than 500 vital functions. Without it, you couldn't absorb food, remove toxic substances from your body or stay alive.

Your liver is incredibly resilient. It can remain functional after losing 80 percent to 90 percent of its cells to disease. It can completely regenerate itself in a few weeks even if much of it has been removed during surgery.

But it's not indestructible. Toxins such as alcohol and drugs, and viruses such as hepatitis B and C can cause permanent liver damage. With advanced liver disease (cirrhosis), healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue and your liver is no longer able to repair itself, gradually losing function and eventually failing. Although early-stage liver disease is more treatable now than in the past, cirrhosis is usually only curable with a liver transplant.

Your liver: A brief anatomy lesson

A healthy liver is cone-shaped, with a smooth, rubbery texture. Its color is dark reddish-brown because at any given moment it holds a pint of blood. It's divided into lobes: a large right lobe and smaller left lobe that tapers toward a tip. Unlike most other organs in your body, your liver has a dual blood supply. Most of its blood comes from the portal vein, which carries nutrients and toxins from your digestive system. The rest comes from the hepatic artery, which supplies oxygen-rich blood from your heart.

Everything you eat, drink, breathe and absorb through your skin eventually reaches your liver. Its 300 billion cells control a process called metabolism, in which your liver breaks down nutrients into usable byproducts. These byproducts are delivered to the rest of your body by your bloodstream. Your liver also metabolizes toxins into byproducts that can be safely eliminated. Some of these byproducts are routed into your bloodstream and carried to your kidneys, which filter them so that they can be excreted in urine. Others are carried away by bile, a yellow or greenish fluid produced by your liver. These byproducts flow through bile ducts to your gallbladder and intestines so that they can be excreted in feces.

What your liver does

Although separating nutrients from waste is one of your liver's most important functions, it's not the only one. Your liver is also a storage depot for sugar (glucose), which is released when you need energy. And it's a chemical factory, producing many substances that perform vital tasks in your body. Some substances produced by the liver include:

• Albumin, a protein that regulates the exchange of water between blood and tissues
• Bile, a fluid that carries away waste and digests fat in the small intestine
• Cholesterol, a substance needed by every cell in the body
• Clotting factors, which help stop bleeding
• Globin, part of the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in blood
• Immune factors, which protect against infection

How to protect your liver

Excessive alcohol consumption over many years is the leading cause of liver disease. Too much alcohol can make a normal liver swell with fat, causing a condition called fatty liver. If the fat becomes inflamed, it can lead to either alcoholic hepatitis, which causes serious but often reversible liver damage, or cirrhosis, which causes irreversible liver damage. Because of extensive scarring, a cirrhotic liver shrinks to a fraction of its former size.

Here are the most important things you can do to protect your liver:

• Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Over many years, more than one drink a day for women and more than two drinks a day for men may be enough to lead to cirrhosis. Illegal drugs, especially cocaine, also can cause liver disease.
• Don't mix other drugs with alcohol. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can be toxic to the liver even if you drink in moderation.
• Get vaccinated against hepatitis B. If you're at increased risk of contracting hepatitis or if you've already been infected with any form of the hepatitis virus, talk to your doctor about getting the hepatitis B vaccine.
• Use medications wisely. Only use prescription and nonprescription drugs when you need them and take only the recommended doses. Talk to your doctor before mixing herbs or prescription or nonprescription drugs.
• Beware of certain supplements. Herbal supplements that can be toxic to the liver include kava, comfrey, chaparral, jin bu huan, kombucha tea, pennyroyal and skullcap. Also avoid high doses of vitamins A, D, E and K.
• Avoid contact with other people's blood and body fluids. Hepatitis viruses can be spread by accidental needle sticks, improper cleanup of blood or body fluids and sharing intravenous needles. It's also possible to become infected by sharing razor blades or toothbrushes or by having unsafe sex.
• Be careful with aerosol sprays. When you use an aerosol cleaner, make sure the room is ventilated, or wear a mask. Take similar protective measures when spraying insecticides, fungicides, paint and other toxic chemicals.
• Watch what gets on your skin. When using insecticides and other toxic chemicals, cover your skin with gloves, long sleeves, a hat and a mask.
• Don't eat too many fatty foods. Your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs. Eating a well-balanced, nourishing diet will help your liver do its job properly. A regular exercise program will help keep your liver healthy, too.
• Watch your weight. Even if you don't drink alcohol, obesity can cause a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which may include fatty liver, hepatitis and cirrhosis.
• See your doctor if you develop any signs or symptoms of liver disease. These include yellow discoloration of the skin or eyes, abdominal swelling or severe abdominal pain, prolonged itching of the skin, very dark urine or pale stools, the passage of bloody or tar-like stools, chronic fatigue, nausea and loss of appetite.

Looking ahead

In the future, liver disease treatments may include genetic therapy, as well as new vaccines and antiviral drugs to prevent and treat hepatitis C and other hepatitis viruses that cause permanent liver damage. Researchers are also working to develop an artificial liver that performs the liver's filtering functions, just as dialysis filters blood in people with kidney failure.

For now, though, the best way to control liver disease is to keep it from starting. By being careful with alcohol, drugs and chemicals, you can ensure that your liver lasts a lifetime.

February 25, 2005

© 1998-2007 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "Mayo Clinic Health Information," "Reliable information for a healthier life" and the triple-shield Mayo logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Terms of Use.

Thanks for reading and thinking about your liver during Liver Awareness Month. I don't mean to take anything away from Breast Cancer Awareness because they are important as well! Just all this breast talk makes your liver a little lonely and just a smidgen jealous. So think about the little guy tucked just under your ribcage, he works day in and day out to keep you feeling GOOD!!

Weighing the Risk-Living Donation

I found an article on Yahoo! about living donors and the risk they assume when they decide to donate to either a stranger or a loved one. We had discussed this as a family and my family was prepared to give up their health to keep me alive if needed. We talked about it with our transplant team when I was being evaluated for placement on the transplant list. The doctors told us that living donation was an option, but with my situation I was an almost perfect candidate for a cadaveric transplant. Luckily, no one in my family even had to undergo the testing process, let alone, making the final decision about whether the risk should be taken. Not every family is as blessed as we were and many have to make that decision. For the medical community, it is a catch-22 in that they are breaking the Hippocratic Oath by making a healthy person sick to save the life of a terminal patient. Many of these patients never return to their former health. There is even a moderate risk of death in being a living donor. I encourage you to read the article. I am not sure about copyright laws so I have placed some links to the story.

9/11

I am getting around to this late but I wanted to put up a short blog remembering 9/11. Like most Americans, I remember exactly where I was on that morning and stayed glued to my TV for the next few weeks. I remember the many prayers that were prayed over those weeks right after the tragedy by what seemed like the whole nation. The sincere sorrow that was felt for the victims and the men and women who rushed into those buildings trying to save those people who were trapped. The support that was given by seemingly everyone to those left behind.

We were a unified nation in those days right after the tragedy, but politics and agendas have pulled us apart again. Despite the tragedy, there was so much kindness and love shown to everyone we passed. I miss those days where it seemed the nation was "under God" again. We still have troops overseas fighting a war that stems from this tragedy. I don't know the answer, and am not going to pretend I do. I do know that I want the troops home as soon as possible and as safe as we can get them here.

To the honorable men and women of the fire departments, police departments, and the many other branches of public service who get little recognition for their bravery, I want to say THANK YOU! You, along with our military, make us feel safe walking around the streets of this country today.

This post reminds me of my letter to my organ donor's family. There are never the right words to say, but I will do the best I can to show my gratitude!

97,000+

I just checked the UNOS website and noticed that the number of people waiting for a transplant has topped 97,000. The current number on the site is 97,081. This is a number that I and many other transplant recipients hate to see going up. Those who are still waiting hate to see that number go up as well because it means their chances of being a "lucky one" goes down.

Become an organ donor, encourage others to become an organ donor, and get involved in organ donation awareness. It is hard to understand the importance until someone you love or yourself becomes one of those 97,000 people. Be an organ donor, save lives!! Sign your organ donor card and tell your family of your wishes to become an organ donor.

I am living proof that organ donation works. There are blogs in my links who are living proof as well. Save lives and become an organ donor!

Organ Donation Month

IT'S NATIONAL DONATE LIFE MONTH!!!!

I meant to post this yesterday but life got in the way. I had plenty of time yesterday to sit down and write a little bit, I guess I was just lazy and let it slip by me. So on the 2nd day of April I will let everyone know that this is an important month for me and all the other transplant recipients of the world. April is National Donate Life Month!! So with that I want everyone to be aware of the fact that there is an extreme shortage of organs in the world. At the bottom of this post I will post the current numbers on how many people are currently waiting for an organ transplant.

If you want to be an organ donor, (hopefully, if you are reading my story, you do) be sure to sign a donor card and LET YOUR FAMILY KNOW OF YOUR WISH TO BE AN ORGAN DONOR!! Upon your death, no matter if you signed a card or not, the choice of organ donation goes to your family. Even if it is in your will to donate, the procurement agency (Lifelink of Georgia, Florida, and Puerto Rico, anyways) will not take your organs. They do this out of respect for your family who are grieving at the moment. They do not want to cause your family any more heartache than they are already experiencing. So let your family know that you want to be an organ donor today!! Remind them often too! Transplantation works! I am living proof as well as some others who have links on the left side of my page.

Last year, I got out of Emory Express on April 5 (my dad's birthday) after 10 days in the hospital. I had not been outside since the surgery and was happy to be out. The first thing I noticed was a banner with a green ribbon declaring April Organ Donation Month on the bridge that joins the hospital and clinic. I remember thinking that I never knew about Organ Donation month before, and never really cared, but that banner meant the world to me at the time. For the next month, I passed that banner going to the clinic for bloodwork every morning. I never got tired of seeing the banner on the bridge knowing that thousands of people saw it everyday as they drove back and forth to work, school, or wherever else they may go. I think now, how my family, and even me, bought into the myths that surround organ donation and was not sold on the idea that it worked. Then it all hit home, I was affected with a condition that would require my family to count on someone who did not know me to save my life. I thank God everyday for that person and the family who made the decision. I will never be able to put into words how much they mean to me. If I ever do get to meet them, that will be one of the greatest days of my life. I do not know if they had been personally affected by organ donation and transplatation, but their decision saved my life. Become an organ donor and save someone else's life if something happens to yours. Organ donation is supported by every religion as it is the greatest gift, unselfish love to another!

"Don't take your organs to heaven, cause the Lord knows we need them here!!"

I drive with one of those same green ribbons on the back of my truck today and I love when people ask me what it stands for (I chuckle inside every time they ask because it says "Support Organ Donation" on it), and why I have it. It gives me the opportunity to talk to them about organ donation and get a feel for what they think about the process. I enjoy talking to people about organ donation and telling my story. I am not one to talk openly about myself, though most people who don't know me and read this probably don't believe. I tend to shy away from all conversation with people I don't know unless the topic of organ donation comes up, then I am an open book. So ask me about my transplant and about organ donation. I will not try to change your mind about organ donation. I will give you the facts and let you be a big boy or girl, and make the decision for yourself!!



Here are the current numbers from OPTN:

Waiting list candidates as of today 4/2/07 at 6:37pm
All	95,791
Kidney	70,866
Pancreas	1,730
Kidney/Pancreas	2,363
Liver	16,913
Intestine	230
Heart	2,830
Lung	2,810
Heart/Lung	121
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Find a different way to stand

That Oprah lady has some good things to say every now and then.

This quote by her sums up what I want to tell people when they ask me how I have made it through these trials at such a young age.


"Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a different way to stand."
--Oprah Winfrey

Find a different way to stand! That's deep enough..nothing else to add.

One Year - So Much To Be Thankful For

Today marks one year since this journey with my new liver began. I have been thinking a lot about how things were before. I do this to keep perspective on how far I have come in the past year. There are mixed feelings about almost everything as I look back. There are things that I have done since surgery that I wish I hadn't. There are many more things that I wish I would have had the courage to do.

The past year has both flown and creeped by all at once. Looking back, I can't believe that a year has past, but as I was going through some of the trials it seemed so slow. I have had relatively few setbacks, the main one being the sinister CMV.

Today was a great day, though I was tired. Craig and I spent the weekend in Bristol at the race and got home around 3:30 AM. Three hours later, I was out of bed and getting ready for work. The day was non-stop with surprise after surprise. The people that I work with went completely out of their way to make today all about me and the transplant. Through some sneaky planning, my class made pancakes for me(blueberry with peanut butter, my favorite), my co-workers made a huge spread for lunch, and the faculty showed up for a party at the end of the day. They also had a lady from Lifelink (the organ procurement agency for Georgia, Florida, and Puerto Rico) come discuss organ donation with the faculty and give out some Donate Life goodies. The school wore green today for organ donation awareness and I knew nothing of the entire thing. I, of course, was wearing my green "Recycle" t-shirt (photo to come). There were some sneaking suspicions, but I never imagined the extent they would go to make me feel special. I am not the type who enjoys being the center of attention. I actually tend to shy away from the spotlight, but today was nice. It is a great feeling to know that you have people who are there for you. That people are willing to take time out of their busy schedules as moms and teachers to plan something that is special to me. Organ donation has become one of my passions and I am trying my hardest to get more and more into furthering the cause in any way that I can. The people that I work with realize this and are helping me to meet this goal. These types of things do not go unnoticed. I will honestly remember this day for the rest of my life. I cannot remember a day where so many people came together to show me that they love me. It still amazes me and more than once today it choked me up, and is again as I type this.

It is so easy to lose sight of all that you have to be thankful for. There is the obvious, the transplant, that is the reason that I am here and able to type this today. But there are many other things that I have to be thankful for. I am thankful for the donor family, who in extremely hard times, were unselfish enough to donate their loved ones organs to me and possibly others. I intend on writing a letter to them when I find words that can BEGIN to wrap around the love that I have for those people. There are my friends and coworkers who show their love everyday, in ways they do not even know. They show their love even in times where I am extremely close to unlovable. My family, who has stood beside me through this entire process. There have been many ups and downs that they only know about, and even more that Craig only knows about. He has been the one that I lean on, he has been the one that I can tell when I hit rock bottom. He is the one who constantly pulls me back up when I am ready to give up. That has been more than once. Sarah, though she came after the surgery, has been another person that I can tell anything to in confidence and know that I will not be judged. She has been my motivator and does not let me use the transplant as an excuse to give up on anything. For that I am thankful because there are times that I get lazy and would use it as a crutch. She pushes me to better myself constantly. There are so many people that I could name that have been an inspiration to me. There are the doctors and the nurses on 9E and in the transplant clinic who never told me that my goals were unreachable. They told me they were lofty, but that I should shoot for them. If any of them happen to read this, I want them to know that each one was met. I returned to work in August, I went hiking, I am back on my mountain bike, I am working out, and I am enjoying life like I never thought that I would again.

There are many things that I haven't done and at times I feel like I am still not living. I want to step out of my comfort zone and make a difference in the world. I don't need to make a big difference, just a little ripple will be fine with me. I want to make my donor and their family proud. I want them to know that their decision was not made in vain. Their loved one is living on inside me and I tell our story everywhere I go. I am thankful for so much and this post barely scrapes the surface of all that I am feeling at the moment. I thank God for giving me the faith to trust in him, the strength to carry on through hard times, and the time to make a difference in the world for him. I want Him to be proud of me when it is my time to go more than anything else. Happy 1st transplantiversary to me! Happy 1st transplantiversary to my donor! Happy 1st transplantiversary to all those who have stood by me and loved me through it all.

2 for 1 deal

As I was checking my email this morning, I noticed the top story on Yahoo! was about liver transplantation. It was an awesome story which will no doubt raise ethical concerns in the near future. As a transplant recipient and knowing about the organ shortage it was nice to see that organ donation and transplantation had front row seats on one of the most popular websites on the internet!

The story told of a 21 year old college student who got the call that she was to receive a new liver. When she got to the hospital, she learned there was a baby girl who was in serious need of a liver as well. She asked the doctor if he could split the liver and give part to the baby. The liver is able to regenerate itself in about a month with enough blood flow. Most pediatric livers use only one lobe of the liver and often times the other is given to someone else or thrown away. The doctor agreed to split the liver and now two lives were saved with one organ.

This is a fascinating story about a brave girl who was willing to risk her chances to save someone else. She is my newest hero! That is one heck of an example of unselfish love for your fellow man. I applaud the doctor for taking the chance as well as the young lady who was able to be so unselfish at a time when she had every right to be selfish!

Q&A update

Yesterday was the Q&A at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. It went surprisingly well even though I could barely talk! It never fails that I lose my voice on the days that I am required to talk in front of people. Oh well, it was a very informal support group type meeting so no big deal. I think that Jenn and I did a pretty good job and hopefully calmed some of the parent's fears. I feel for the parents of these children who are never going to know a life without medication and doctor's appointments. I hope that seeing Jenn and me as productive citizens post-transplant will give them hope for their children to live fulfilling lives.

We got some good feedback from some of the people running the show and have invited us back for something similar in the future. I can't wait to go again. I honestly think I could do that everyday. It has been exciting meeting so many people here lately who are passionate about organ donation and transplantation. I admire each one of them, but some have never even been directly affected, those I really admire. They have a love and a passion for others that hopefully one day I will realize. They amaze me.

18 days until my 1st transplantiversary!!

Walking and Riding for Organ Donation

Next Wednesday is the big day! I am going to talk to the group of parents at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and I am getting excited about going. I am going into this blind, not knowing what to expect but I am looking forward to talking to people about my experience with transplantation. I have no idea what I am going to say. I hope that I will be able to say something worthwhile to the parents. Brent left a comment on my earlier post telling me to be honest about my feelings. He said that the parents are wanting to know what is going on inside of their children emotionally so they can help. I think that was great advice and I will be taking that with me to the session.

I have also been in contact with others who are active in the organ donation world. It seems I have been meeting lots of wonderful people lately. First there was Kim, from Pensacola, which I mentioned in an earlier post.

In the past week, I have been fortunate enough to speak with two other people through email. The first was a lady named Amanda Prather from Jasper, Ga. Her father received a kidney from her sister through the living donor process two years ago. She is organizing a walk for organ donation in Jasper on April 14, 2007. The name of the walk is Donate Life Walk: Raising Awareness One Friend At A Time. Here are pictures from last years 1st annual walk. If any of you are willing to walk, I am going to try and get a group from Dahlonega to head over to Jasper that morning to show our support for organ donation as well. If you are interested let me know and I will get you a registration form. There is a registration fee that includes a T-shirt. All of the proceeds will go to support the Georgia Transplant Foundation.

The other person that I have been talking to is from California. (This is where technology amazes me. I never would have known about Team Donate Life, let alone talk to someone involved if it weren't for the internet.) Kent Mulkey and I have been exchanging emails lately about biking and organ donation. Mr. Mulkey is riding in the Race Across America (RAAM) for Team Donate Life. He will be riding over 1500 miles in 8 days on a bicycle. He became involved in organ donation after his best friend and best friend's dad went through the living donor process. He is now the main man in charge of Team Donate Life as well as his own life. Check out Kent's blog, An Unfinished Life. It is an inspiring one!

I think that it is cool how many doors have been opening up lately for me to get to know so many people in the organ donation community. I enjoy meeting everyone and hope to meet many more in the future!

March 7 - Parent Q&A

Well, I have been kind of dry lately. Not so much across the board, but about organ donation and anything to write on here. As always, I have plenty to say but I am trying to keep this blog semi-focused. I am still wondering about the direction it will take. I am sure that it will still focus on organ donation, struggles with transplantation, others going through the process, and me as well. I am just wondering if I need to expand it a little to include some of my bigger thoughts about other things that I feel should be shared. I don't know. Guess I will ponder it more. Any feedback would be appreciated as well.

As for me, I am doing well. I got a couple of weeks off of going to the doctor which is great. My truck is thanking me that is for sure. I changed my oil 3 weeks ago and have driven 1900 miles since then. I didn't realize I was on the road that much until I started logging it.

I am looking forward to March 7 with much anticipation and nervousness. I have never been really good at talking in front of people, though in the past 4 or 5 years I have forced myself to do it a great deal. For those that know me can attest to the fact that I am painfully shy when the group gets above 3 or 4. I basically shut down in the conversation that is taking place.

On March 7, I am going to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to speak to a group of parents. I will be on a panel of 7 young adult organ transplant recipients answering questions for parents of children who are waiting for a transplant. We will be telling them how transplantation has affected our lives. I feel for these parents who are no doubt worried about whether their child will be able to live a normal life. I am not a parent and don't really understand that side of the card, but I do remember how nervous I was about my own life changing. I am happy to say that it has been the catalyst for the improvement in my quality of life. I have taken up some things that I had given up when I was sick and also made some changes in my life that are much healthier. I hope that through this experience, the parents will be more at ease with how their children will live post-transplant. I am exciting about the opportunity to speak, but I am nervous about opening up in a public setting. I say a lot on this blog that I would never say in person; it is easy to hide behind the computer screen!

Guess I wasn't as dry as I thought.

National Donor Day

Today is National Donor Day! Yes, I know it is Valentine's Day as well and hopefully everyone is having a great one. You girls are getting all the gifts you want from your men and guys.....hopefully you will get whatever you are waiting for from your girl. For just a few minutes though, I want to shift your focus to something that is important to me, organ donation.

On this day that is characterized, thanks to Hallmark, as the day that we show our love to those around us, remember there are some out there who will lose a loved one because of a shortage of donated organs. I am not writing this to change anyone's mind about organ donation, I just want everyone to have some facts about the process.

- Almost 100,000 men, women and children currently need life-saving organ transplants.

- Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.

- In 2005, there were 7,593 deceased organ donors and 6,895 living organ donors resulting in 28,108 organ transplants.

- An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.

- 90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor.

I encourage you to evaluate your stance on organ donation today. If you choose to become an organ donor, know the steps to make sure your organs are donated. You can find out your state's requirements by going here. If you live in Georgia, you can become a donor by marking the option on your license and by signing a donor card. In Georgia, your family is ultimately the people who decide if you will become an organ donor. Be sure to let them know your wishes concerning organ donation upon your death.

This being National Donor Day, I want to encourage everyone to donate blood and bone marrow, as well as their organs and tissue. 60% of people are eligible to donate blood, but only 5% of the population actually donates!

Therapy

Today, I did what I have been wanting to do for a long time. I went back to one of my favorite places, Preacher's Rock. This was one of those places that I went to a lot when I first found out that I had a liver disease and it seemed my life was changing for the worse. If nothing else, it seemed at that time like my life was in a blender and I had no idea what this drink was going to taste like when the blades stopped. I used to go up there to just sit and clear my head. It is one of those places for me that I can "breathe." From this rock, the world, it's problems, my problems, and even I seem insignificant. This is the ultimate meaning for the metaphor of being "on a mountain" versus "in the valley." Life seems okay and good when I am up on the mountain and the problems "down there" seem to melt away. I haven't been up there in a little over two years and it was so much better than I remember. I am sure that nothing really has changed in those two years, but my memory had failed me at just how beautiful it is "in my little heaven." I have had some tough times alone on that rock, some arguments with God and myself, as well as some good times with God I will never forget. There are a lot of my feelings up on that rock and today more were left. This time I am glad to say that they were positive feelings.

I went up there today with a purpose of getting a picture of me, an organ transplant survivor, for Kim, a lady who lost her son to cancer shortly after receiving a liver transplant. She is now a strong proponent for organ donation and shares the story of her son, Willam McMahon, with countless others. Kim had sent me a shirt and asked that I take a picture wearing it. I decided I would go back to my favorite place, a place I would never have been able to return to without a new liver. I am glad that I did. I was able to find my center again and realize that what I am going through, though tough and sometimes aggravating, is not so bad. I was able to have some quiet time up there and reflect on how good God has been to me. I was able to say a prayer for Kim and to think about William. This is a public thank-you to Kim, for the shirt and for giving me the reason to return to "my little piece of heaven." I encourage you to read William's story.

If you are not an organ donor, I encourage you to become one. By donating your organs, you could save up to fifty lives.

Organ Donor Waiting List hits 95,000

I just wanted to post this to get you thinking about the need for organ donors. I know it isn't a comfortable topic and not what you want to be thinking about on a beautiful day. There are people out there today who are waiting, wondering if they will get their organ before it is too late. I have been there, I understand. Please consider becoming an organ donor, and if you decide to do become a donor, INFORM YOUR FAMILY OF YOUR WISHES! THEY ARE THE ONE'S WHO MAKE THAT DECISION IN GEORGIA! Waiting list candidates as of today 11:22am
All	95,066
Kidney	69,983
Pancreas	1,745
Kidney/Pancreas	2,389
Liver	16,988
Intestine	239
Heart	2,857
Lung	2,864
Heart/Lung	135
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - October 2006
Total	24,445
Deceased Donor	18,793
Living Donor	5,652
Based on OPTN data as of 01/26/2007

Donors recovered January - October 2006
Total	12,401
Deceased Donor	6,750
Living Donor	5,651
Based on OPTN data as of 01/26/2007