(I'm writing this because I myself have heard this myth and at one point believed it could be the truth)
Myth - Doctors, EMS etc. will not do as much to save my life in a medical emergency if they know I am an organ donor.
Truth - All medical professionals are sworn to keep the Hippocratic Oath which basically states that they will do everything within their power to maintain the life of the person they are serving.
It makes zero practical, medical and ethical sense to "allow" one person to die (in this way) so that others might possibly live. Organ donation is never a sure thing for the recipient, and every single medical professional I have talked with about this subject (either on a professional or casual level) has given me complete assurance that they could not imagine anyone ever giving teeth to this myth. When you are in a medical emergency, their complete focus is on saving your life.
In fact, people who have agreed to organ donation are given more tests to determine that they are truly dead than are those who haven't agreed to organ donation.
Please, read more about Organ Donation Myths.
I'd hate to think that the only thing keeping somebody from becoming a donor is a lie.
Nate
Showing posts with label Transplant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transplant. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
(Bump) Organ Donation Myth #2
(This myth can actually go two ways)
Myth 2a - Even if I never tell anyone, as long as I am registered as an organ donor on my driver's license and the medical personal are aware of that fact, my organs will be used.
Myth 2b - Even if I am registered as a donor on my driver's license, my organs will not be used unless I tell my closest of kin of my wishes and they are able to follow through.
The truth and false to these two myths really all depends on what state (in the US) you live in. Up until recently, Myth 2b was true for every state. If your next of kin either could not be contacted or was unwilling or unable to confirm your intent to be a donor, the indication on your driver's license meant nothing, legally. The family ultimately had the final say.
But, recently, several states have passed laws similar to the one passed just a few months ago in NC that make Myth 2a true. The Heart Prevails Act of NC declares that, even if the next of kin either cannot be contacted or is unwilling to consent, the little heart symbol on your NC driver's license is legal consent to allow medical personnel to begin the process of organ recovery. (Tissue donation still must be consented to by family.)
These new laws/acts are incredibly beneficial, for several reasons:
1) They help to insure that the wishes of the deceased are carried out.
2) They help take the pressure off of the family to make the final decision.
3) The make the entire organ recovery and donation process easier, quicker and safer, insuring that recipients have a better chance of survival.
4) They increase the number of available organs.
It is still incredibly important, no matter what state you live in, to notify your family of your wishes, even if it is just to help them be prepared.
Take a few minutes to Click Here and discover how you can become an organ donor in your state of residence and how to help insure that your wishes are carried out upon your death.
Read more about Organ Donation Myths.
Thank you!
Nate
Myth 2a - Even if I never tell anyone, as long as I am registered as an organ donor on my driver's license and the medical personal are aware of that fact, my organs will be used.
Myth 2b - Even if I am registered as a donor on my driver's license, my organs will not be used unless I tell my closest of kin of my wishes and they are able to follow through.
The truth and false to these two myths really all depends on what state (in the US) you live in. Up until recently, Myth 2b was true for every state. If your next of kin either could not be contacted or was unwilling or unable to confirm your intent to be a donor, the indication on your driver's license meant nothing, legally. The family ultimately had the final say.
But, recently, several states have passed laws similar to the one passed just a few months ago in NC that make Myth 2a true. The Heart Prevails Act of NC declares that, even if the next of kin either cannot be contacted or is unwilling to consent, the little heart symbol on your NC driver's license is legal consent to allow medical personnel to begin the process of organ recovery. (Tissue donation still must be consented to by family.)
These new laws/acts are incredibly beneficial, for several reasons:
1) They help to insure that the wishes of the deceased are carried out.
2) They help take the pressure off of the family to make the final decision.
3) The make the entire organ recovery and donation process easier, quicker and safer, insuring that recipients have a better chance of survival.
4) They increase the number of available organs.
It is still incredibly important, no matter what state you live in, to notify your family of your wishes, even if it is just to help them be prepared.
Take a few minutes to Click Here and discover how you can become an organ donor in your state of residence and how to help insure that your wishes are carried out upon your death.
Read more about Organ Donation Myths.
Thank you!
Nate
(Bump) Organ Donation Myth #3
Myth - A deceased donor and/or family will be charged a medical fee for the organ recovery/removal.
Truth - There is NO cost to the donor and/or family for organ OR tissue donation.
In fact, the cost for organ recovery is charged to the organ/transplant recipient. The donor/family will be charged for any and all final efforts to save the donor's life, and sometimes those bills are misinterpreted as costs related to organ donation, but, again, the cost of organ donation is the responsibility to the recipient, NOT the donor.
As a side note: there are organizations set up that offer financial assistance to transplant patients/families who may not be able to pay for the cost of transplantation on their own. A good place to start is Transplants.org
Thanks!
Nate
Organ Donation Myth #1: Will the Doctors Save My Life?
Organ Donation Myth #2: Is My Driver's License Enough?
Truth - There is NO cost to the donor and/or family for organ OR tissue donation.
In fact, the cost for organ recovery is charged to the organ/transplant recipient. The donor/family will be charged for any and all final efforts to save the donor's life, and sometimes those bills are misinterpreted as costs related to organ donation, but, again, the cost of organ donation is the responsibility to the recipient, NOT the donor.
As a side note: there are organizations set up that offer financial assistance to transplant patients/families who may not be able to pay for the cost of transplantation on their own. A good place to start is Transplants.org
Thanks!
Nate
Organ Donation Myth #1: Will the Doctors Save My Life?
Organ Donation Myth #2: Is My Driver's License Enough?
(Bump) Organ Donation Myth #4
Myth - An open casket funeral is impossible after organ donation.
Truth - Unless you plan on being naked at your funeral, organ donation does not effect an open casket funeral in any way.
In fact, throughout the entire organ recovery process, the deceased body is treated with the utmost respect and care, in large part to insure that an open casket funeral is possible. Even bone, skin and eye donations are completely undetectable under normal circumstances (again, if the body is clothed and eyes are closed).
Thanks!
Nate
Organ Donation Myth #1: Will the Doctors Save My Life?
Organ Donation Myth #2: Is My Driver's License Enough?
Organ Donation Myth #3: Will It Cost My Family and I Money to Donate?
Truth - Unless you plan on being naked at your funeral, organ donation does not effect an open casket funeral in any way.
In fact, throughout the entire organ recovery process, the deceased body is treated with the utmost respect and care, in large part to insure that an open casket funeral is possible. Even bone, skin and eye donations are completely undetectable under normal circumstances (again, if the body is clothed and eyes are closed).
Thanks!
Nate
Organ Donation Myth #1: Will the Doctors Save My Life?
Organ Donation Myth #2: Is My Driver's License Enough?
Organ Donation Myth #3: Will It Cost My Family and I Money to Donate?
Monday, July 16, 2012
Re-Transplant
We got word a few weeks ago that Tricia's medical team is moving forward with a plan to get Tricia back on the transplant list for a second double lung transplant. We are waiting for the word from her team to know what the timeline is, so we really don't have much to tell you other than that. We are still praying that the CAMPATH will work and reverse this rejection, and would appreciate your continued prayers about this as well.
Nate
Nate
Friday, July 13, 2012
July 13 Update
Nothing much new to share with you. Tricia is feeling about the same, about every other day is a "good" or "bad" day. On the good days, she is able to get out of the house and spend some time with friends and family, on the bad days she spends a lot of time in bed. Our friends and family have been a huge help, spending time with the kids so I can keep as "normal" a work schedule as possible, providing meals and just spending time with Tricia.
We are blessed.
Nate
We are blessed.
Nate
Friday, April 6, 2012
(Bump) A Very "Good Friday"
This was originally posted on April 2, 2010.
Have you ever wondered why the church calls today “Good Friday”? What’s so “good” about the fact that the One who Christians acknowledge as their “Savior” died such a horrible and “unexpected” death?
As humans, isn’t it hard for us to see death as a good thing? Most of us will spend all of our lives living in fear of death…doing all we can to avoid death. Many of us try to eat right, exercise, and stay generally healthy so that we can live long lives…and the rest of us feel guilty about not eating right and exercising.
But, Jesus said that He came to the earth, to live for a short 33 years, to have a public ministry of just 3 years, and to die, all so that we might be able to live an abundant life. To our simple human brains, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The idea that death can bring life is what we would call a “paradox”.
A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement, idea, person or thing that is true or may be true. In other words, a paradox is something that is true even though it might not seem to make any sense to our human intellect.
For example, the statement, “This sentence if false” is a paradox. If the statement is true, then the statement is false. In which case, the statement is true, which means the statement is false...and so on for infinity.
Another paradox: “You can't get work without experience, but you can't get experience without work.” Somebody explain to me how exactly that’s supposed to play out.
How about this: “The customer is always right.” So, if two customers say that the other is wrong, both are right, and therefore, both are wrong that they are both right that they are both wrong that they are both right that they are both wrong, etc.
God is a God of paradox. For example, have you ever tried to think about the fact that God “Always has been”? For God, there never was a beginning. That’s a hard thing for us to wrap our minds around, considering we know without doubt that everything we experience as humans had a beginning at some point, even if we weren’t there to witness it.
Or, how about the idea of The Trinity – God is One and Three all at the same time. Even our best attempts as humans to explain this idea fall short. Maybe you’ve heard somebody use water to illustrate the Trinity of God…water can be a solid, liquid and gas. But, water cannot be all three of those things at the same time.
And, just as God often reveals Himself as a paradox, Jesus’ life on this earth was a paradox…listen to this:
JESUS had no servants, yet they called Him MASTER...
JESUS had no degree, yet they called Him TEACHER...
JESUS had no medicine, yet they called Him HEALER...
JESUS had no army, yet KINGS feared Him...
JESUS won no military battles, yet He CONQUERED the WORLD...
JESUS committed no crime, yet they CRUCIFIED Him...
JESUS was buried in a tomb, yet He LIVES TODAY...
It probably seems odd to most people outside of the church that Christians would gather together once a year to remember and celebrate the anniversary of Jesus’ death, but it’s because of this paradox, that Jesus’ death means life for you and I, that we have reason to celebrate. Death on a cross is a gruesome thing…bloody and painful and humiliating. Yet, there is a beauty in the death of Jesus, knowing that He willingly died because of His great love for us.
Maybe that still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to you…so, let me share a short, personal story that might help illustrate why we call today “Good Friday”.
Two years ago today, on April 2, 2008, I woke up in a hospital room at Duke University Medical center in Durham, NC. I had slept there that night, just as I had many nights before those past few months, on the floor at the foot of my wife’s bed. Tricia was dying of Cystic Fibrosis and, at that point, had been bedridden at Duke for about three months.
A month earlier, Tricia had been placed on the double lung transplant list. A transplant, her doctors told us, was the only option Tricia had left. She was literally growing sicker and weaker every day, and the prognosis was that she would be dead by the end of that summer if her medical team could not find her a new pair of lungs. In fact, just the day before, on April 1, Tricia’s right lung had collapsed, which was a sign that her lungs were at the very end.
There were a few big factors that made finding a donor for Tricia very difficult:
1) Tricia’s blood type is very rare…so rare, in fact, that the doctors would later explain to us that there was less than a 1% chance of finding a donor that would be a good match for Tricia.
2) Lungs deteriorate more quickly than other donated organs while being moved from the donor to the recipient, so the window of time between the death of the donor and the actual transplant surgery would have to be extremely short. Unfortunately, transplanted organs are often moved thousands of miles from donor to recipient.
3) Because she had to have a double lung transplant, she could not have a living donor. Her donor had to be a deceased donor. Donating organs after your dead doesn’t hurt much (in case you’ve ever wondered), but, unfortunately, very few people make the decision to be an organ donor, so the “supply” of healthy lungs is very limited.
So, the chances that Tricia's medical team would locate a match and have the time to retrieve the lungs and perform the successful 9-hou surgery were incredibly small. Which is why, when we got the call that April 2nd morning that a match had been found and that Tricia would be going into surgery that evening, we were full of mixed emotions.
Knowing that a match had been found also meant knowing that somebody had died that day, probably unexpectedly and possibly tragically. It meant knowing that there was probably a mother, father, brother, sister, wife or husband, maybe even children who were experiencing a great loss, and others who were just being told the news of the death of their friend.
But, it also meant that somebody had made the decision during their life to become an organ donor…to offer the chance for Tricia to experience abundant life. So, not because of death, but because of life, we both prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the donor and peace for the family AND we celebrated.
And, two years later, on this anniversary, we continue to remember the death of Tricia’s donor and the pain that this day might bring his or her family and friends...we pray for their peace and comfort today, and we continue to celebrate the abundant life that Tricia has been given.
So, tonight, at Nags Head Church, we’re also going to remember and celebrate, because we too know that Jesus’ death was meant to give us life, abundantly here on earth and for eternity. We will remember His death, thank His Father God for sacrificing His one and only Son for us, and celebrate our new life together.
Nate
Have you ever wondered why the church calls today “Good Friday”? What’s so “good” about the fact that the One who Christians acknowledge as their “Savior” died such a horrible and “unexpected” death?
As humans, isn’t it hard for us to see death as a good thing? Most of us will spend all of our lives living in fear of death…doing all we can to avoid death. Many of us try to eat right, exercise, and stay generally healthy so that we can live long lives…and the rest of us feel guilty about not eating right and exercising.
But, Jesus said that He came to the earth, to live for a short 33 years, to have a public ministry of just 3 years, and to die, all so that we might be able to live an abundant life. To our simple human brains, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The idea that death can bring life is what we would call a “paradox”.
A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement, idea, person or thing that is true or may be true. In other words, a paradox is something that is true even though it might not seem to make any sense to our human intellect.
For example, the statement, “This sentence if false” is a paradox. If the statement is true, then the statement is false. In which case, the statement is true, which means the statement is false...and so on for infinity.
Another paradox: “You can't get work without experience, but you can't get experience without work.” Somebody explain to me how exactly that’s supposed to play out.
How about this: “The customer is always right.” So, if two customers say that the other is wrong, both are right, and therefore, both are wrong that they are both right that they are both wrong that they are both right that they are both wrong, etc.
God is a God of paradox. For example, have you ever tried to think about the fact that God “Always has been”? For God, there never was a beginning. That’s a hard thing for us to wrap our minds around, considering we know without doubt that everything we experience as humans had a beginning at some point, even if we weren’t there to witness it.
Or, how about the idea of The Trinity – God is One and Three all at the same time. Even our best attempts as humans to explain this idea fall short. Maybe you’ve heard somebody use water to illustrate the Trinity of God…water can be a solid, liquid and gas. But, water cannot be all three of those things at the same time.
And, just as God often reveals Himself as a paradox, Jesus’ life on this earth was a paradox…listen to this:
JESUS had no servants, yet they called Him MASTER...
JESUS had no degree, yet they called Him TEACHER...
JESUS had no medicine, yet they called Him HEALER...
JESUS had no army, yet KINGS feared Him...
JESUS won no military battles, yet He CONQUERED the WORLD...
JESUS committed no crime, yet they CRUCIFIED Him...
JESUS was buried in a tomb, yet He LIVES TODAY...
It probably seems odd to most people outside of the church that Christians would gather together once a year to remember and celebrate the anniversary of Jesus’ death, but it’s because of this paradox, that Jesus’ death means life for you and I, that we have reason to celebrate. Death on a cross is a gruesome thing…bloody and painful and humiliating. Yet, there is a beauty in the death of Jesus, knowing that He willingly died because of His great love for us.
Maybe that still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to you…so, let me share a short, personal story that might help illustrate why we call today “Good Friday”.
Two years ago today, on April 2, 2008, I woke up in a hospital room at Duke University Medical center in Durham, NC. I had slept there that night, just as I had many nights before those past few months, on the floor at the foot of my wife’s bed. Tricia was dying of Cystic Fibrosis and, at that point, had been bedridden at Duke for about three months.
A month earlier, Tricia had been placed on the double lung transplant list. A transplant, her doctors told us, was the only option Tricia had left. She was literally growing sicker and weaker every day, and the prognosis was that she would be dead by the end of that summer if her medical team could not find her a new pair of lungs. In fact, just the day before, on April 1, Tricia’s right lung had collapsed, which was a sign that her lungs were at the very end.
There were a few big factors that made finding a donor for Tricia very difficult:
1) Tricia’s blood type is very rare…so rare, in fact, that the doctors would later explain to us that there was less than a 1% chance of finding a donor that would be a good match for Tricia.
2) Lungs deteriorate more quickly than other donated organs while being moved from the donor to the recipient, so the window of time between the death of the donor and the actual transplant surgery would have to be extremely short. Unfortunately, transplanted organs are often moved thousands of miles from donor to recipient.
3) Because she had to have a double lung transplant, she could not have a living donor. Her donor had to be a deceased donor. Donating organs after your dead doesn’t hurt much (in case you’ve ever wondered), but, unfortunately, very few people make the decision to be an organ donor, so the “supply” of healthy lungs is very limited.
So, the chances that Tricia's medical team would locate a match and have the time to retrieve the lungs and perform the successful 9-hou surgery were incredibly small. Which is why, when we got the call that April 2nd morning that a match had been found and that Tricia would be going into surgery that evening, we were full of mixed emotions.
Knowing that a match had been found also meant knowing that somebody had died that day, probably unexpectedly and possibly tragically. It meant knowing that there was probably a mother, father, brother, sister, wife or husband, maybe even children who were experiencing a great loss, and others who were just being told the news of the death of their friend.
But, it also meant that somebody had made the decision during their life to become an organ donor…to offer the chance for Tricia to experience abundant life. So, not because of death, but because of life, we both prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the donor and peace for the family AND we celebrated.
And, two years later, on this anniversary, we continue to remember the death of Tricia’s donor and the pain that this day might bring his or her family and friends...we pray for their peace and comfort today, and we continue to celebrate the abundant life that Tricia has been given.
So, tonight, at Nags Head Church, we’re also going to remember and celebrate, because we too know that Jesus’ death was meant to give us life, abundantly here on earth and for eternity. We will remember His death, thank His Father God for sacrificing His one and only Son for us, and celebrate our new life together.
Nate
Saturday, December 31, 2011
COTA
I've got a little buddy named Wyatt (below) who is in desperate need of a heart transplant and is receiving help from COTA, Children’s Organ Transplant Association. Wyatt was born early with his twin brother Davis at Duke several months ago. Davis is healthy and now home with his family, but Wyatt is still at Duke waiting for his new heart. Both of these little guys have been cared for by the same staff who took care of Gwyneth.
COTA's Facebook Page is currently being sponsored. Every time someone "likes" their page, $1 is donated to COTA to assist transplant-needy kids and young adults!
Please visit the COTA page, click "like" and spread the word! Thank you!
Nate
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Newspaper Article
Tricia and I were interviewed for this newspaper article last week. Take a look, and please consider praying for Jason and others who are waiting on the transplant list. And, consider becoming an organ donor...the only reason there are 110,543 people on the list today is because there are millions of people in the US who are not organ donors.
Nate
Monday, August 16, 2010
CF Telethon
A childhood friend of mine now works for a NC television station that holds an annual telethon for Cystic Fibrosis every summer (read more about that Here). Pat met up with us a few weeks ago to film a short clip that was shown during the telethon (see below). I thought you might like to watch it...you might also like to know that the telethon raised nearly half a million dollars for CF research!!!
On a related note, a young CF girl named Jaimee passed away yesterday just a few days after receiving her long-awaited double lung transplant. Jaimee is the cousin of a dear friend of mine...she leaves behind a husband and an awesome extended family who could really use your prayer today.
With another death in the CF community, I'm reminded more than ever that there is still no cure, but that we are getting closer every day to finding that cure and making a HUGE difference in the lives of thousands of CFers around the world.
Thanks.
Nate
On a related note, a young CF girl named Jaimee passed away yesterday just a few days after receiving her long-awaited double lung transplant. Jaimee is the cousin of a dear friend of mine...she leaves behind a husband and an awesome extended family who could really use your prayer today.
With another death in the CF community, I'm reminded more than ever that there is still no cure, but that we are getting closer every day to finding that cure and making a HUGE difference in the lives of thousands of CFers around the world.
Thanks.
Nate
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Sinus Surgery Today
Tricia goes into surgery at 11:45 am today.
Sinus surgery is very common for cystic fibrosis patients, and even more common for lung transplant patients. In fact, it's surprising that she's made it this far out from her TX without the surgery.
The purpose of the surgery is to both open up her airways a bit and to prevent nasty bacteria and other stuff that could be harmful to her delicate lungs from finding a comfy place to hang out. It is often a rather uncomfortable, if not painful procedure that must be repeated every so often, but Tricia's surgeon is very progressive/cutting edge and has had great success with minimal pain/discomfort and very few repeat customers.
Obviously, anytime you're drilling around inside your head, there are risks of damage to the eyes, skull, brain, etc. The procedure may take several hours, but hopefully Tricia won't be required to stay overnight...we're still hoping that 2010 will be the first year of Tricia's life that she hasn't had to spend a single night in a hospital!
Thanks for your prayer! And, please, don't share your scary sinus surgery experiences here...Tricia is not encouraged at all by reading about how this might not be a fun experience.
Nate
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Busy Week
We have a busy week ahead. This Tuesday we drive to (and back from) Duke for Gwyneth's MRI. They'll be looking at her inner ears for any damage or abnormalities. Hopefully we'll have some more information concerning her hearing loss and her under-developed speech.
Then, next Monday, Tricia and I will be driving back to Duke for Tricia's sinus surgery. Sinus surgery is very common for CF patients post-transplant. The only thing Tricia has consistently had issues with since her transplant is her sinuses...several infections every winter. If all goes well, we'll be home by Wednesday evening.
Nate
Then, next Monday, Tricia and I will be driving back to Duke for Tricia's sinus surgery. Sinus surgery is very common for CF patients post-transplant. The only thing Tricia has consistently had issues with since her transplant is her sinuses...several infections every winter. If all goes well, we'll be home by Wednesday evening.
Nate
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Radio Interview about Eva
A Canadian station interviews one of the filmmakers of Eva's documentary, "65_RedRoses". A great insight into Eva's passion for CF and Organ Donation awareness.
The documentary is not currently available on DVD, but hopefully it will be very soon. I've seen an edited (shorter) version of the film, and it's amazing!
Nate
The documentary is not currently available on DVD, but hopefully it will be very soon. I've seen an edited (shorter) version of the film, and it's amazing!
Nate
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Goodbye Sweet Eva
Our beautiful friend, Eva Markvoort passed away this morning.
I first came to know of Eva just a little over 2 years ago and have since blogged several times about her. She received her double lung transplant not too long before Tricia received hers. Tricia and I have been able to spend the past few years, thanks to the internet, getting to know Eva as a friend. It has been amazing to watch her truly take advantage of her second chance at life...I've never known anyone as uniquely open about her joy for life as Eva.
It's also been an honor to be able to encourage and pray for Eva and her family over the past several months as she has continued to live as joyfully as possible while dealing with chronic rejection and hoping for another transplant. I can't imagine the journey they've had the past few months, and am full of mixed emotions right now, hurting for her family and very thankful that Eva is no longer suffering. Although she did not received her transplant, she does have new lungs today.
Goodbye, sweet, Eva! We will miss your gritty poems and your crazy photos and your silly videos. You were so kind to us, and we are very thankful to have called you friend. We love you!
Nate, Tricia & Gwyneth Rose
I first came to know of Eva just a little over 2 years ago and have since blogged several times about her. She received her double lung transplant not too long before Tricia received hers. Tricia and I have been able to spend the past few years, thanks to the internet, getting to know Eva as a friend. It has been amazing to watch her truly take advantage of her second chance at life...I've never known anyone as uniquely open about her joy for life as Eva.
It's also been an honor to be able to encourage and pray for Eva and her family over the past several months as she has continued to live as joyfully as possible while dealing with chronic rejection and hoping for another transplant. I can't imagine the journey they've had the past few months, and am full of mixed emotions right now, hurting for her family and very thankful that Eva is no longer suffering. Although she did not received her transplant, she does have new lungs today.
Goodbye, sweet, Eva! We will miss your gritty poems and your crazy photos and your silly videos. You were so kind to us, and we are very thankful to have called you friend. We love you!
Nate, Tricia & Gwyneth Rose
Thursday, December 31, 2009
(Bump) A Sober Reminder
There's no delicate way to say this...
Every year, the late hours of New Years Eve and the early morning hours of New Years Day yield a high number of transplant calls.
Please, don't drink and drive. And, if you must go out on the roads without alcohol, be extra careful.
Organ donation/transplantation is a wonderful thing, but not so much at the expense of somebody's stupidity.
Thanks.
Nate
Every year, the late hours of New Years Eve and the early morning hours of New Years Day yield a high number of transplant calls.
Please, don't drink and drive. And, if you must go out on the roads without alcohol, be extra careful.
Organ donation/transplantation is a wonderful thing, but not so much at the expense of somebody's stupidity.
Thanks.
Nate
Friday, December 11, 2009
Rough Winter
The cold, germy months of winter are the toughest for CFers, especially those who are already hanging by a thread. Just in the past few weeks, I've read of a half-dozen CFers passing away, some who were waiting for their new lungs.
Please, take the time to pray for the Cystic Fibrosis community this winter. And, if you haven't already, please, please, please, consider becoming an Organ Donor. Here are a couple of quick Organ Donation & Transplantation facts:
> There are over 100,000 people, the size of a small city, on the transplant list in the US.
> There were less than 10,000 deceased organ donors in the US last year. (that's a ratio of 1 organ donor to every 10 transplant patients).
> In the time it takes you to shower today, 1 new name is added to the US transplant waiting list.
> From the time you woke up this morning to the time you wake up tomorrow morning, 18 people will die waiting for their transplant in the US.
Nate
Please, take the time to pray for the Cystic Fibrosis community this winter. And, if you haven't already, please, please, please, consider becoming an Organ Donor. Here are a couple of quick Organ Donation & Transplantation facts:
> There are over 100,000 people, the size of a small city, on the transplant list in the US.
> There were less than 10,000 deceased organ donors in the US last year. (that's a ratio of 1 organ donor to every 10 transplant patients).
> In the time it takes you to shower today, 1 new name is added to the US transplant waiting list.
> From the time you woke up this morning to the time you wake up tomorrow morning, 18 people will die waiting for their transplant in the US.
Nate
Monday, November 9, 2009
Lego Your Organs!
Thanks to Alice and Eva for this!
And, while I've got your attention, check out This Story of a young CF mother waiting for her double lung transplant...we're not the only ones with a powerful story to tell!
Nate
And, while I've got your attention, check out This Story of a young CF mother waiting for her double lung transplant...we're not the only ones with a powerful story to tell!
Nate
Monday, April 13, 2009
A Local CF Transplant Story
Martina Natoli is a CFer from nearby VA Beach who received a double lung transplant 6 months ago...you can read the story Here...she literally received her transplant call at the last possible moment.
More than likely, Martina had many of the same nurses, CF doctors and TX surgeons that Tricia had/has...in fact, the young man who is walking with Martina at 2:10 in the video below is on of Tricia's CF nurses and a friend of ours. Maybe we'll meet Martina at the TX clinic one day.
Nate
More than likely, Martina had many of the same nurses, CF doctors and TX surgeons that Tricia had/has...in fact, the young man who is walking with Martina at 2:10 in the video below is on of Tricia's CF nurses and a friend of ours. Maybe we'll meet Martina at the TX clinic one day.
Nate
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Cystic Fibrosis Documentary Film
Do you remember my friend Eva and My Post about the upcoming documentary of her journey with CF and Double Lung Transplantation? Well, the trailer for the film has been released, and, in fact, the film itself has been picked up and will be shown at the largest documentary film festival in North America, Toronto's Hot Docs!
Please, take a few minutes to watch The Trailer for 65_REDROSES, and (especially if you have a personal connection with CF and/or TX) please, consider blogging about this film as well so that we can raise as much awareness and support as possible!
You can also join the 65_REDROSES Facebook Group to show your support!
And, visit the official 65_REDROSES Website to learn more about the film!
Way to go Eva!
Nate
Please, take a few minutes to watch The Trailer for 65_REDROSES, and (especially if you have a personal connection with CF and/or TX) please, consider blogging about this film as well so that we can raise as much awareness and support as possible!
You can also join the 65_REDROSES Facebook Group to show your support!
And, visit the official 65_REDROSES Website to learn more about the film!
Way to go Eva!
Nate
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Longest Night Of My Life
A year ago tonight was the longest night of my life. Tricia went into surgery around 9pm and didn't come out until after 6am the next day...it seemed like much more than 9 hours to me.
Our parents and I stayed awake the entire time, sitting in the NICU waiting room, spending time with Gwyneth. I know from the thousands of comments that night and early morning that many, many people were up with us, praying and hoping and waiting.
I'd love to write something poetic and deep right now, but I really have nothing more to say except, "thank you".
Nate
Our parents and I stayed awake the entire time, sitting in the NICU waiting room, spending time with Gwyneth. I know from the thousands of comments that night and early morning that many, many people were up with us, praying and hoping and waiting.
I'd love to write something poetic and deep right now, but I really have nothing more to say except, "thank you".
Nate