As National Donate Life Month comes to a close, I would be remiss to not give a plea for organ donation myself given the impact it has had on my family. At this point last year, we were patiently waiting for my dad to be listed on the lung transplant list. He had a horrific disease called pulmonary fibrosis that was severely limiting his ability to breathe and thereby limiting his quality of life. The disease was progressing at what felt like warp speed and we all knew our time with my dad was short without a double lung transplant. Luckily on June 14th, my dad received the call from UPMC, and an organ donor saved his life. I still struggle to compute how fortunate we are as a family that someone was a perfect match to my dad and was an organ donor. We are eternally grateful to them and their family that gave my dad a new lease on life. I became an organ donor when I got my license at the age of 16. Clearly, I was young and definitely not understanding of the full impact, but I remember breaking it down into a simplistic thought. That if I was dying and could save someone, I should. And now in hindsight, I am beyond proud that I am one. Becoming an organ donor takes very little effort but can have the most profound impact on a family, or many families for that matter. Please consider becoming a donor and saving a life! #Everydayisagift
Today is Donor Remembrance Day. 💙💚 The donation and transplant community is coming together today to honor and celebrate the donor heroes who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation. We are sharing forget-me-not flowers to symbolize that donors and their legacy of generosity will always be remembered: https://lnkd.in/g6dRtbDN #DonorRemembranceDay also honors donor families and serves as a reminder that they are always a part of the Donate Life community. 🌸 Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) #DonateLife #DonateLifeMonth
Michael O'Grady
2mo
Kayla: I share your sense of awe and wonder as the recipient of my cousin’s kidney over 20 years ago - and still going strong! Thanks for sharing!
Director, Business Applications (Construction) at Aprio : Acumatica, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, SIAP, Sage 300 CRE, Sage 100 Contractor and Sage Estimating
2moLove this post. I’ve been an organ donor since I got my license too. God bless the family that lost their loved one that now lives through your Dad.