Until We Meet Again, Dick

Upon my first visit to the transplant clinic to undergo tests for acceptance into the program, I met a kindly older gentleman by the name of Dick Thomason.  Dick had undergone a heart transplant several years earlier and had taken it upon himself to spread the word of organ donation.  His lovely wife, herself not in the best of health, worked side by side with him until her death about 2 years ago.

Dick and my parents made a strong connection.  He and my father would discuss the ins and outs of gardening, in particular how to grow tomatoes, as I underwent the numerous biopsies and other tests both before and after my transplant.  Dick was the keeper of extra medication...if you had some that you no longer needed, you gave it to Dick.  If you needed something that your insurance couldn't cover for a while, you called Dick.

He tirelessly worked for LifeShare.  He never pressured anyone to help him in his endeavors but would readily accept help if offered.  He came to every clinic date to make sure everyone was doing ok.  And he always lived life to the fullest.  He got involved in classic planes and cars.  When his wife passed away, he connected with an old classmate who was his first girlfriend, and they began to "see" each other.

Today, Dick lost his battle with one of the many complications that can happen to transplant patients.  There will never be a way to thank him for all he has done for each of us personally or for LifeShare in Oklahoma in general.  But, Heaven has been blessed by a very special angel this evening.....and Dick and his beloved wife are back together.  All is right in the Heavens.

Until we meet again, Dick......

Another Hollywood story

It's that time of the year when there is nothing on TV...except a few interesting sport events...so I decided to start DVR'ing a soap opera that is going off air just to see how it would end.  "As The World Turns" was a family staple as I was growing up so I thought I'd check it out and see how they were going to wrap up the final episodes.

Wouldn't you know...they were dealing with a heart transplant...and did the poor writers ever get it wrong.  The guy who was getting the transplant, well he was somewhat believable.  But when his brother the lawyer said he was going to a hospital and pullling some strings to get a heart for Chris...I about snorted.  There is NO WAY that you can just pull some strings and get a heart.  UNOS has that one covered pretty good.  Then, through typical soap opera magic, another heart became available and the tests for matching seemed to be done in less than 15 minutes....WRONG.  I must have given 50 vials of blood over the 6 months I was on the waiting list to get a transplant.  Each one was tested to the very smallest antibody and DNA code possible in order to make the transplant have the optimum success.  Then, the guy gets through the surgery and everybody and their dog comes into the room to see him with only a gown on.  LOL...my first days everybody who came to see me, and they were very limited, had to scrub up and wear masks...there was no kissing, hugging, or touching.

I guess I get irrated with these TV shows because they make it seem so simple when it is anything but.  They could have made it more dramatic to have played it out as it really happens....lots of testing, lots of calls about "we think we have a heart but we're not sure", trial runs to the hospital only to have it not be the one.  They make it sound so simple when it is anything but, and they degrade the ultimate gift that is given to the donor and their family.

One of these days, I'd like to see an accurate representation of what it really is like for the person who is sick, for their family, and for the donor family who suffers the loss of a life while giving life to someone else.  THAT would be a great story!