The Gift of Life

Almost 3 years ago I wrote a post about organ donation in light of my aunt receiving a heart transplant. It's hard to believe that I am back writing about another family member being given the gift of life through an organ donation.

My stepfather received a new lease on life by receiving his heart transplant a few short days ago. Thankfully I can report that so far everything is going well. His breathing tube has been removed, and other than feeling tired, he is feeling as well as can be expected.

After my initial post about organ donation, I gave a lot of thought about becoming an organ donor. It wasn't until last year when I needed to change my address on my driver's license that I finally made the decision to become an organ donor.

I'll be honest that a big factor in me making this decision was due to a family member being personally affected by organ donation. When I thought about my aunt being given another chance to live her life -  to continue being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, aunt - I thought about the donor who made such a selfless decision to help someone they probably wouldn't even know. I also thought about the donor's family too. Although they have lost a family member, their loved one has given the gift of life which hopefully provides a sense of comfort to them.

As many reasons as there are for becoming an organ donor, there are many reasons people are against it. I'm not here to sway anyone's thoughts one way or another. I'm just here to create awareness and give you something to think about.