Keeping Busy

Lately I have been so busy! I've been organizing the float for the parade and getting a meeting set up for people that live on my road (we're a tight knit community.) I've also been preparing a presentation to go into a couple highschool classes with in the hopes to raise awareness that way as well. Not only that there is a donor registration drive on October 8 from 10-2 at the Picton Home Hardware that I've been organizing. Only 23% of the people in my community have registered their consent to donate life saving organs and tissue. Like I said before I want to change that to 25% by the end of December. I guess we'll see what happens!

On October 7 (my birthday) there is a Celebration Dance for Terry Miller and Wannett Fraser Reynolds that I'm going to. It's a great time to get people to register. Terry and Wannett just came home from TGH after Wannett donated a portion of her liver to Terry. I'm happy to say that both are doing well.

With all this organizing and all these events it's hard to find time to update my blog! And here I thought having things going on would be the best thing for it! I will keep you posted as to how things go.

Don't forget to look for us at Pumpkinfest in Wellington! The one that started it all!

Happy Birthday

Today is mom's birthday. One year ago today the Gold Wing group went up to surprise mom at the Toronto General Hospital. It really bolstered her spirits to see and have a bunch of her friends around her. I remember talking to her on the phone afterwards and she was very happy. She was most excited because she had been given clearance to come home and meet her new grandson. It was good to hear the excitement in her voice. I keep her spirit with me and I hope that I'm doing her proud.

Now, onto the exciting news! Yesterday I received 4 boxes full of stuff from the Gift of Life Network! It was so exciting to go through it. I even received 2 flags!! Perfect for the parade! I'm very excited about it and am plannig on how to use it. Thank you Nicole for helping me out!

Just Dropped By

I stopped at the cemetary last night on my way home from work. I sat and told mom about Madeline starting school and Ben crawling all over the place. I talked about the young boy who just passed away while waiting for a double lung transplant. I told her about all the things I've been doing to raise awareness about organ donation. People keep telling me she'd be so proud. I just keep wishing I could hear her say that. I would never say it's getting easier, but perhaps... more bearable.

I read a story posted about a little 5 year old girl who passed away and her parents donated her organs.  Her heart went to a young boy, her liver to a college student and another organ went to a small baby. She (and her family) saved 3 lives. It's stories like these that give  me hope. We can make the change. Register to make a differene. (beadonor.ca)

Getting Ready

I have finally sat down and started to prepare my presentation for this Saturday. There are so many things that I can say about organ donation but they all come back to one thing... be a donor. So many people are waiting for life saving organs. I'm looking forward to telling people how important it is.

I stopped in to give a brief talk to a grade 10 class. They ranged from 14-16 years old. I explained to them the significance of registering to donate. I hope that I at least reached some of them. I impressed upon them that anyone, at any age, can require a transplant. I relayed Thomas Quinet's story to them. I hope that I got the message across. I will be visiting them again in October.

I wanted to say, with a very sad and heavy heart, that Thomas' wait was too long. He passed away last week after waiting for a double lung transplant at 14 years of age. It's terrible that these tragedies have to happen when we can make a difference and do something to help the people waiting for organs.

Please register your consent to donate. If you have, ask your family and friends. Organ donation saves lives!

First Day of School

It's finally here. I look back on it and I'm amazed it came this quickly, but Madeline is starting Kindergarten. I can't remember my first day of school, but I know there's pictures and mom was there to put me on the bus. I wish mom was here to see Madeline go to school. She would have been beaming!

This is also the Tuesday after the long weekend. For someone waiting for a transplant you would know that the long weekend can be a time of great hope. It's sad that so many accidents occur during the long weekend, but through all the sadness there is a little light. By donating loved ones organs you're saving the life of someone else. I remember anxiously waiting for the long weekends with mom, family and friends. Actually, mom had her first transplant on the Thanksgiving long weekend 10 years ago. It just goes to show you. So while you're listening to all these terrible tragedies remember some good may have come from them.

"Don't think of organ donations as giving up part of yourself to keep a total stranger alive. It's really a total stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep part of you alive." ~Author Unknown