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Hey friends. Can I ask a favor? And this is an easy one since it involves you drinking.
On this date, October 8, 2006, a 42-year old man said goodbye to his family as he left that morning for work. He was a construction worker doing a building tear down near Riverside, CA.
On this date, October 8, 2006, a 42-year old man said goodbye to his family as he left that morning for work. He was a construction worker doing a building tear down near Riverside, CA.
Later that day the phone rang at his family& #39;s home. He& #39;d been in an accident. A steel beam hit him in the head and he had been rushed to the hospital unconscious.
He would never regain consciousness, and two days later on October 10 the decision was made to pull life support.
He would never regain consciousness, and two days later on October 10 the decision was made to pull life support.
But as the decision was made by his family to end his life, they also decided to pass on life to a group of complete strangers by donating his organs.
A few hours later my phone rang. "This is Dorothy at UCLA. We have your heart. We need you to get here as fast as possible."
A few hours later my phone rang. "This is Dorothy at UCLA. We have your heart. We need you to get here as fast as possible."
About six weeks after my transplant I was having a hard time sleeping. I couldn& #39;t stop thinking of his man, who at the time I knew his basic bio, but knew nothing about the circumstances that took his life.
I got up one night and began to search the internet.
I got up one night and began to search the internet.
Finally, as best as 2006 Google would allow, I came across a story about a construction worker injured on the job, and taken to Riverside Hospital, where I knew my heart came from. It was him. If I didn& #39;t know it from connecting the dots, I knew it in the way my heart skipped.
I wrote a letter to the family that night, and slept peacefully for the first time since the transplant. They never responded, but I do know they received it. I know they read my profound thanks and the commitment I made to always remembering their loved one and honoring him.
I think of him always, and today, 14 years after he was taken from his family, please join me in honoring his memory. I never learned his name, but I know he had a good heart, and that his family, in their worst moment of grief, thought of others. I am alive because of them.
Please tip one back in honor and respect for all organ donors and donor families. We salute these everyday heroes.
Thank you.
#DonateLife
Thank you.
#DonateLife