Giving Thanks

HEARTFELT THANKS

 

For most, this is the season of giving thanks. For me the season of giving thanks is unending. I have always appreciated this gift of life God has graced me with, and the experience of struggling through years of illness from liver failure and then being blessed to have received a second chance at life through a liver transplant gifted by a compassionate organ donor family, has served to intensify that appreciation. I have since learned to celebrate life each and every day, even second by second. Of course I love the Thanksgiving holiday, it reinforces and heightens our awareness of the many blessings we have to be grateful for. It also provides me with one more opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to my family, friends and my organ donor family, all  of whom have enriched my life immeasurably. May you all have a blessed, Happy and healthy Thanksgiving!



 





Transplant Games

TRANSPLANT GAMES of AMERICA

 

As the recipient of a liver transplant in 2008, I was really happy to have the opportunity to participate in my first Transplant Games of America in 2014 in Houston, Texas as a member of Team SoCal. It was a wonderful experience having the opportunity to meet members and supporters of the transplant community from all over the nation and the world. We were there to celebrate the gift of life, to honor organ donors and donor families, and to increase awareness of the critical need for organ donation. We broke bread together, danced, exchanged pins with participants from every state in the United States, and shared stories with old and new friends. Then some of us participated in athletic events. It was exciting competing in various events like cycling, volleyball, track and field, bowling, basketball, golf, corn hole and more. Some won gold, silver and bronze medals for their efforts, but the most rewarding was simply being able to participate. Many of us had survived near death experiences while waiting for organ transplants, and it was no less than a miracle that we were now healthy enough to participate in athletic events. The games gave us a chance to show the world, by our participation in the games, the results of the compassionate gift of organ donation. I am excited about the upcoming 2016 games in Cleveland, Ohio and looking forward to joining my Team SoCal members there to continue our celebration of life, and to help increase awareness and give hope to the thousands on the waiting list for life saving organ transplant.

 

 

 

 



OPOs

ORGAN PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATIONS

 



There are 58 Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the U.S.  They are responsible for two main functions: 1) Increasing the number of registered organ donors, and: 2) Coordinating the donation process when actual donors become available.  In California, where I currently reside, there are four federally designated OPOs; One Legacy serving Greater Los Angeles, Sierra Donor Services serving Sacramento, Life Sharing serving San Diego, and Donor Network West serving Northern/Western California. The following links provide more detailed information about the locations, responsibilities and operations of OPOs: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_procurement_organization

 

 

http://organdonor.gov/materialsresources/materialsopolist.html

National Donor Sabbath 2015

NATIONAL DONOR SABBATH

 

Today marks the end of the 2015 National Donor Sabbath weekend (November 13-15) and faith leaders from many religions, donor families, transplant recipients, and donation and transplantation professionals participated in services and programs to educate the public about the need for life saving and healing gifts passed to others through transplantation, while also encouraging people to sign up as organ, eye and tissue donors.  The advocacy of the church for organ donation dramatically increases the opportunity to educate communities about organ donation and transplantation, and results in more people registering to be organ donors. As the recipient of a life saving organ transplant, I am profoundly grateful for the support of the church and all of the advocates who work tirelessly to increase the number of lives saved  through organ donation.

 

 

Hepatitis C

HEPATITIS C: The Stealth Virus

 

Hepatitis C is a virus, or infection, that causes liver disease and inflammation of the liver. Acute hepatitis C is a short term infection lasting approximately 6 months and sometimes clears up because your body is able to fight off the infection and get rid of the virus. Chronic hepatitis C, however, is a long lasting infection and occurs when the body can't get rid of the virus. Most hepatitis C infections become chronic. Without treatment, chronic hepatitis C can cause liver cancer or severe liver damage that leads to liver failure. A liver transplant may be necessary if chronic hepatitis causes severe liver damage (end-stage liver disease) that leads to liver failure. There are six strains (Genotypes) of the hepatitis C virus. Genotype 1 is the most common strain in the United States. Knowing the genotype may help a doctor choose the best treatment plan. Some call Hepatitis C the "Stealth Virus" because it is a slow acting virus and most people have no symptoms and don't realize that they have hepatitis until liver damage manifests itself, sometimes, decades later. That was my case, by the time I was diagnosed with hepatitis C I was at the point of end-stage liver disease. The virus had just about destroyed my liver. Although I do not know, and most never know, exactly how I contracted the virus, my doctor said that the amount of damage to my liver indicated that the virus could have been contracted 25 or 30 years before I was diagnosed with it. The fact that there are no symptoms until serious damage has occurred makes this a very dangerous and, sometimes, deadly virus. Unfortunately I did not discover my hep C until it was too late and only a liver transplant would save my life. I was fortunate to not only have received a liver transplant, but to, subsequently, have successfully completed the 12 week treatment program for hepatitis C, which included a regimen of Harvoni and Ribavirin. It was a hellish 12 weeks, but to be cured of that deadly disease was worth the temporary suffering. The downside of this new treatment is that it is very expensive, making it unavailable to many. The following links provide more detailed information about the hepatitis virus.

 

http://immersive.healthcentral.com/hepatitis-c/d/lbln/living-with-hepc-kim/

 



http://ideas.health.vic.gov.au/diseases/hepatitis-c.asp

Veteran's Day 2015

HONORING OUR V E T E R A N S

 

November 11th is Veteran's Day, a day the nation sets aside to honor those veterans who have served America with honor and bravery, often sacrificing life and limb in defense of our freedom. Many of our veterans are on the waiting list for organ transplants and I pray they will be fortunate enough to get a life saving transplant. As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force I want to wish all of my fellow veterans a Happy Veteran's Day.

 

 



Sabbath

NATIONAL DONOR SABBATH

 

National Donor Sabbath is observed annually two week-ends before Thanksgiving, November 13-15.  Faith leaders, organ donor families, transplant recipients, and transplantation professionals participate in services and programs to educate communities about the need for organ donation and encourage people to register to be organ, eye and tissue donors. 

 

http://donatelife.net/nds/