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Here Comes the Dread Argument of the Individual Case...Again

One cold morning this Winter I talked about "the dread argument of the individual case." Well, here we go again. Although this time it could be called "how personal connections make a difference."

Yesterday this letter came up in my Facebook feed.

I tend to be a very private person, but.....Today marks the 90th day for me on the 1A waiting list for a heart transplant. The "average " wait time for someone with my blood type is 83 days.

There is a shortage of donor hearts available, and my team has had a very dry spell in the availability of suitable donor hearts since August 2013.

If you and your loved ones are registered organ donors , thank you!

Please continue to encourage friends , family, neighbors, co-workers to register now .

And don't forget one VERY important thing: Please let those nearest and dearest to you KNOW your wishes should the time come . Many more lives could be saved IF the medical team knows!

Thank you!

Love,

*****

We read a lot of human interest stories every day on social media. We see requests for charitable donations, tales of heartbreaking tragedies, pleas to click "share" and challenges to make a difference. This one is different.

It is from my friend.

We met in college, when he was a freshman and I was a junior. He was a phenomenal musician even before he got to college. I was rather intimidated by him, but over time we became friends. Years passed, we lost touch, then found each other again on Facebook. You know the story.

And then suddenly he disappeared. Little by little, posts appeared from very close friends that he had experienced a serious cardiac event, and more. He was fighting for his life in ICU. Amazingly, he pulled through.

He now lives every day with extra pounds of equipment known as a VAD. Keeping up with his daily experiences as he goes to rehab, doctors' appointments, changes batteries, tries to play the piano again, wraps everything in plastic to take a shower...has changed my perception of organ donation.I always believed in it, in the abstract.

But now, it's personal.

So I am sharing his letter with you to take his experience one step further. And maybe, somehow, one day closer to getting a new heart.

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