And She Writes too

Organ donation, just two words to most people but to me those two words mean that there is hope! As a child my family talked about organ donation, giving of oneself so that others could live. We never thought that one of us would need a new organ or become an organ donor. Talking about organ donation was a subject discussed at the dinner table as easily as saying our prayers before every meal. It was no surprise to anyone that at age 16, when I received my driver's license, that organ donor would be placed on my new license. Not only did I have organ donor on my driver's license but I also checked the box to donate $1 to our local organ procurement organization. Never in a million years would I have guessed that my life would change because someone I loved needed to live with the help of organ donation.

When one dreams of having children, you dream of that perfect little baby with ten fingers, ten toes, a beating heart and that beautiful baby skin. No one ever dreams of having a child with a serious medical condition. No one ever dreams of having a yellow baby. No one ever dreams of a life spent in and out of hospitals just to keep your baby alive. No one ever dreams of watching their baby grow into a walking, talking toddler wondering if they will make it to kindergarten. No one ever dreams of their school age child being teased because she has a scar across her belly or because she has hairy arms due to the medications she takes. No one ever dreams of having a child only to fear that every day may be their child's last. No one ever dreams that their baby would need a liver transplant.

Organ donation to me means that I can dream of my daughter's future without fear or at least with hope. Organ donation means that my son will always have his sister to love and will not fear attending her funeral. Organ donation means that I can watch my daughter enjoy life without hospitals in it. Organ donation means that my husband and I will be forever grateful to someone we don't know but will live on in our daughter. Organ donation means that my daughter can live a normal life and dream of having babies of her own.

How has organ donation changed my life? Organ donation has changed the way I dream, how I hope and how I pray. The words organ donation are not just two little words, organ donation are words to live by, organ donation are words of LIFE