Truimph and Trumping
Welcome to the weekly blog of a Donate Life Northwest volunteer who has graciously offered to tell the story of her journey through the organ transplant process. She posts to this blog every Wednesday so you can ride this interesting, bumpy road with her.
Get through it I did! Well, maybe I should wait until the evaluations come rolling in, but I feel pretty confident I did okay. When I got to talking about me, the so-called “3rd perspective, “ I led in with video shot in 2007 by Donate Life Northwest. It shows me talking about my brother Seth and the registry, all with confidence that if and when, when and if I needed a transplant… And I talked about the rocky road (oh, boy!) until November 20, 2010 when I received my new heart. And by God, if those 30 sophomores and juniors didn’t start clapping! Now, that is not a reaction I had prepared for, and all I could do was laugh! Way better than blubber.
This may even trip the Dr. Kim-in-the- vineyard funny scene in my movie. I will forever remember this moment. And I have shared it with many!
The only thing I wish I had stressed more is my gratitude for my donor. Next time.
I came away understanding how meaningful it was to me to be “back on the circuit” for Donate Life Northwest telling my story and how poignant it was for me to stand up there with a new ending to the third perspective – my life.
The author is a heart failure patient going through the post-transplant process. She also is a nurse and former hospital administrator. She would like to thank Donate Life Northwest for permitting her to post her observations on the Donate Life Northwest website. She also wants to emphasize that all opinions and views stated in the posts are her own and not those of Donate Life Northwest.
Tags: heart transplant, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, organ donation