In an attempt to play major blogging catch up from the hectic past couple of months, I'm taking it all the way back to APRIL which was National Donate Life Month.
Most people are highly aware of months such as October when towns are virtually painted pink for breast cancer awareness or the month of February where we wear red for heart disease. Few people realize that every Spring, as we are celebrating the coming forth of new life and a change in seasons we are also working to raise awareness regarding the importance of organ donation. It may not get as much national attention as the other causes, but I'm working my butt off to change that!
It's no secret that I'm highly passionate about this issue and for good reason. Had it not been for the selfless act of a perfect stranger, I simply would not be here today. Plain and simple. Organ donation isn't something that most people are comfortable talking about and I'm hoping to change that too. The process of donation is a beautiful miracle in my opinion but there is a certain feeling of uneasiness that comes along with thoughts of death and dying and I totally get that. My prayer is that by living an abundant, happy, healthy, and full life others will see the importance of the precious gift I was given and in turn will make the decision to register as an organ and tissue donor.
The month of April was filled with lots and lots of opportunities to be involved with National Donate Life month. It began on April 7th with the annual flag raising ceremony at Vanderbilt. I was a part of this last year as well and I will continue to do so for as long as I'm able. Vanderbilt is such a special place to me and I love that they take time to recognize and appreciate their donors and their families in this special ceremony.
I wanted Matthew and Kyndall to join me so we spent the entire day together as a family in Nashville. It's important that Kyndall sees us making this a priority and that she is reminded just why her Mommy is still here.
I was so happy to be reunited with my friend TJ and his sweet wife Mandy. I met TJ and Mandy at Vanderbilt last year when we were both waiting on our liver transplants. TJ and I both suffer from PSC, the autoimmune liver disease for which there is no cure. Our transplants were a little less than a year apart, but we have so much in common. We are two miracles, two second chances, two happy endings. Two very grateful souls whose lives were spared because of the selfless acts of two strangers. We are two individuals representing FOUR amazing lives! TJ continues to be a husband to Mandy and a Daddy to Jax and Addi. I continue to be wife to Matthew and Mommy to Kyndall. There are simply not enough words to express how thankful we are for the decision our donors made to give LIFE to us.
TJ with his sweet wife Mandy
This girl is just as passionate about the cause as I am
You never know who you'll run into at Vandy. On this day it was a sweet therapy dog named Will, who was on his way to go visit patients.
We ended a great day with a yummy dinner in Nashville
The following week I was invited to attend a similar ceremony at our local hospital here in Jackson. Jackson Madison County General Hospital hosts a flag raising ceremony each year but this was my first time being a part of it. I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces as well as meeting some of the wonderful nurses and staff on the neuro floor, which is where the majority of organ and tissue donations are made.
They were very sweet to allow Kyndall to be a part of raising the flag. She talked about this for days to come!
Pictured here in the red shirt is my dear friend Lisa who is also a liver transplant recipient. I'm so glad she was there with us that day. I think that seeing living, breathing examples of what donation can do allows people to feel more connected to the cause and therefore hopefully more likely to support it.
Kyndall made this crafty creation out of green glitter glue, a replica of the well known Donate Life symbol. She gave it to one of the sweet ladies we met at the hospital that day.
Here's a short video of Kyndall helping raise the flag
Later in the month I was invited to speak at a special event held in Trenton, TN at the County Clerk's office. I along with several others who have been touched by the gift of donation shared our stories and hopefully gave some insight into why we are so passionate about this cause.
I was particularly moved by the story of a woman who recently lost her daughter to kidney failure because an organ did not become available in time to save her life. She was not even 30 years old and was a mother herself. Everyone in the room cried as they listened to her story of heartbreak, but no one sobbed harder than this grateful soul as I sat feeling incredibly thankful yet incredibly guilty for the gift that lives inside of me. I tried to compose myself as I was next in line to speak, but my efforts failed and I stood before a room full of people and cried like a baby as I struggled to get my words out. Maybe I was living in denial, but I never remember fearing that my life might be ending if I didn't receive the transplant that I needed. However, this day was a sobering reminder of that reality and it made me all the more passionate about sharing the importance of donation. Every 10 minutes, another name is added to the national transplant waiting list. On average, 22 people die each day waiting for a life saving transplant. One organ donor can save up to eight lives.
As always, my two biggest cheerleaders were there to support me
The biggest event of the month came at the very end and was something I was extremely excited about! Each year thousands of people gather in our community for the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival. At the end of the week there is a grand floats parade, which is a pretty big deal around here. Schools are out, businesses are closed and the town pretty much shuts down so that everyone can be a part of this parade. I approached my volunteer coordinator at Tennessee Donor Services many weeks before and proposed the idea to enter a Donate Life float into the parade. He agreed it would be a good idea and gave me full permission to take over the planning. So I set out to gather volunteers who I knew would be as excited about this opportunity as I was. I have quite an extensive network of transplant "family" here in the Jackson area and it seems to be growing all the time. Just as I thought, nearly all of these individuals were as happy about this opportunity as I was and agreed to help me pull it off.
Once again, my faithful crew was there to support me
I was also really excited to have my Mom in town during this time. Lord knows I never would have survived my own transplant without her as my 24/7 caregiver!
We gathered on the streets of downtown Humboldt to assemble and wait for our turn in line
The Edwards/Sikes crew represented their daughter/sister (and one of my BFFs) Ashlie who received her liver transplant in 2010.
Chase and his mom Melanie. Chase received a heart transplant 3 years ago.
Matthew's truck served as our "float" and he did a great job driving it for us
Assembling the goodies to be passed out during our walk
Tony took one for the team and agreed to wear the "donor-saurus" costume despite the heat!
Our crew! We originally had about 30 who were supposed to walk with us but for various reasons many had to back out. I am so thankful for the ones who showed up and showed their support for this cause!
Kyndall ran into Amanda, one of her sweet dance team friends
A friend in the crowd took these videos of our group as we passed by....
We had so much fun and I think we represented the cause well. I hope to make this an annual event!
Chase received a heart and I received a liver. Neither of us could have done it without our Mamas!
You're never too young to be an ambassador for something that has touched your life. I am so thankful that this sweet face realizes how very blessed our family is to be on the other side of this transplant journey, complete with a happy ending. She makes it all worth it!
Tony's goal in wearing the costume was to lose weight by way of sweating...I think he achieved that goal and then some.
After the parade, it was time to EAT!
Give this kid a snow cone and some popcorn and she's a happy camper
Thanks to Humboldt for another great year at the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival
Several times throughout the month of April my story was shared on social media by "The Waiting List", which is a non-profit organization whose goal is to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. They asked me to be a guest contributor four times during the month, sharing parts and pieces of my story on both Facebook and Instagram. I was honored to be asked to share and I sincerely hope that in some way it touched someone out there who was reading. If you're not already following The Waiting List, you should change that right now. You will be so blessed by these stories of hope!
Lastly, I proudly wore this shirt several times throughout the month of April. It was given to me this past Christmas by my sweet sister and I love it...especially since it was made with my favorite color combination of pink and green in mind.
Please, consider signing the donor registry today.
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