Times for Thanksgiving

From early November until the beginning of the year, each year, I'm reminded about how grateful and blessed I am to have been given this second chance at life.  My donor, Tiffany Mashore, had her 20th birthday during the first week in November of 2004 then was married before Thanksgiving.  The following February, she was giving me her heart. 

I often think of her family during these 6 weeks or so...how lonely it must be for her young husband, how difficult it must be for her family to share holidays without her being around.  I've never been able to visit with her family...I thought I would be able to but I've just never had the courage.  Tiffany's grandmother calls my mother every now and then, and she seems to understand why I can't make that connection.  There are days I still feel guilty over my inability to make that call, but I've been told by transplant coordinators that it will happen at my own pace.

I've also been thinking about those transplant survivors in this area who have passed away this year...we lost another one last week.  We survivors know that we've been given a second chance, and we try to live our life in a way to honor the gift we've been given.  Our situation can change with one germ, one cancer cell, one organ failure.  Each day that we are here we should be grateful...I know I am.