Good Morning! This is a very difficult morning for those of you who have to go back to work after some time off for Christmas, really, I feel for you! If you are lucky enough to have a minute to sit in front of the computer, I appreciate that you are stopping by.
A little over a week ago, a dear friend of ours stopped by to tell us a very sad story. This last summer his daughter married a great young man who is in the service, which of course had us all worrying about his safety in these unsettled times. Sadly, this brave young man has gone through tragedy that you can't find in any war or battle or political arena. He has lost his beloved sister.
She was a vivacious 28 year old that had started having seizures a few months before she had a massive heart attack. They were in the process of finding out why she had the seizures, but obviously were not able to come up with an answer in time.
The weird thing was, that when our friend told us that she had had the heart attack I got a very strong vision of Christmas lights being unplugged. I even felt a little odd physically, it was such a strong signal coming through. I shared my concerns with Tom and we both began praying our hardest for the family.
On Christmas Eve we found out that the family had honored her wishes that day and allowed her to become an organ donor. I know that it must have been an agonizing decision as they were very upset they would not be with her when she took her final breath. It just so happened that one of her friends works for an organ donation group and was allowed to sit in on the surgeries and be with her when she passed. All of this happened to the sounds of Garth Brooks singing her favorite song "I've Got Friends In Low Places".
I know, it's almost more than a person can bear. I have not used names on purpose, this story could be any one person's story, but it can also be the story of many. You see, I am a very firm believer in organ donation. This noble young woman may have left behind a very sad family, but she has also left behind a long string of people who have a new life, thanks to her unselfishness. For the patients who received news that they were going to receive a new organ for Christmas, it must have been the biggest of all Christmas miracles.
So, in honor of our nameless Christmas Angel, and many of those before her, I would like to leave you with a link to OrganDonor.gov where you can find answers to any questions you may have and also sign up to be an organ donor if you are not already. I have also signed up to be a blood marrow donor through Bonfils at a local blood drive. I did it this way so that I would not have to pay for the tissue sample, if I remember correctly my favorite Denver Broncos paid for it. So, look for a local blood drive that is offering this test for free, or sign up online here. No matter where you do it, all of the information gets put into one database, so as soon as your tests come back you are on the list to save a life!
I have since figured out why I had such a strong reaction to this tragedy. It hits close to home because of the sudden onset of seizures, not unlike myself at almost her same age, but I knew that in some way it would not be just another sad story. People can have connections to stories without having ever hearing them, but can affect the outcome more than they could dream of.So, hopefully you will make a miracle today.
1 comment:
If you have illnesses where you can't be considered as an organ donor (e.g. Lupus), you may consider donating your body to medical research at many Medical Universities. When they are done with the use of the body for research and teaching purposes they return the creamated remains back to the family.
You can even sign up to be an body donor when you are young and then all they ask is you keep copies of your medical records, or have your doctor's send copies to them of your lifetime care so these can be reviewed by medical (Doctor)students after they have studied the body to see if their finding concur with your prior care.
This can save a family the cost of cremation and burial.
You provide the urn of your choice, or they use a basic type.
This might not be for everyone, but it is a needed and helpful way to help someone in the future by providing Doctor's/Surgeon's/Pathologists of the future the hands on education they need.
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