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Part 2 Organ Donation: An Unselfish Act

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Editor’s note: April is Donate Life Month. The BOC is privileged and extremely grateful to have NATA President Jim Thornton, MS, ATC, PES, share his personal story about his experience as an organ donor recipient when he was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in 2000. This is the second part of a two-part series. Read Part 1 .

Part 2: Preparing for Surgery and Giving the Gift of Life

We prepared for the surgery all summer.  Kristine came to visit us in the east and we did all kinds of testing to make sure the transplant center knew of everything in our medical history, labs over time, etc.  We were poked and prodded on every inch of our bodies, and we celebrated the end of the testing with sushi and a Pirates baseball game.  The Pirates didn’t win that day, but it was a great day with my sister and one that I will never forget.

In September it was time for surgery.  My labs were horrible and I was in advanced kidney failure.  I entered the Starzl Transplant Facility in the Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh on Sunday morning.  I had to have IV meds to prepare my body for the introduction of foreign tissue.  My sister, her husband and my wife left me there and went to a Steelers game.  I didn’t fault them.  A very close friend of mine gave me four tickets to his box seats and I was grateful they could spend that time together.  My sister and her husband had never been to an NFL game, so spending their first one in a luxury box pretty much ruined them for any game enjoyment with the “regular” folk in the future.

The surgery was scheduled for early the following morning.  They take the donor down first to get them ready to harvest the organ.  The recipient is taken down roughly 30-45 minutes later.  When they rolled me into the pre-op room, I was glad to see that they put me right next to my sister.  Soon after arrival the anesthesiologists were talking to us, taking yet another history and giving us instructions regarding what was about to happen.  I remember not paying too much attention to them, as I was interested in what was going on with Kristine.  Was she afraid?  Was she angry with me that I had asked her to do this thing?   Was this an obligation and not a gift as I hoped it was?  Most importantly, was I worthy of such a gift?

I looked at her and said “Hey!”  She said “What?”  I said, “Are you scared?”  She said, “No . . . are you?”  I said, “No.”  A short time passed and I looked at her once again and said, “Hey!”  She said, “What?”  I said, “I want you to know that I love you.”  She said, “I love you too!”  Kristine said it in a way that I knew she was willing to do this without hesitation.

We often hear about great sacrifices that people make for others, like firefighters, police, our military and other courageous souls who think more of others than they do of themselves by performing great acts of personal sacrifice.  Very few of us have the opportunity to witness first hand, the love of one person to another by this type of personal sacrifice.  Giving someone a kidney is not like getting a tooth pulled.  It is major surgery; I knew it, and so did she.

Shortly after that exchange, they started to wheel her off for the procedure.  I once again called out to her and said, “Hey!”  She said, “What?” I said, “Thank you.” Kristine then turned her head and said, “YOU are welcome!”  I will never forget that exchange between my sister and me.  I believe it to be one of the most significant moments in my life.

To say that I am appreciative of her and the gift she has given me goes without saying.  Previous to the transplant I went through a time of self-reflection and thought about what she was willing to do for me.  I was deeply concerned about whether I was worthy of a gift such as this.  It is a very personal experience to receive something that you can never give back or repay.  Following the surgery and before Kristine and her husband left, we gave them a watercolor picture of the courthouse in our town in western Pennsylvania.  On the back, a note from me and an inscription that reads, “A part of you will always live in Clarion Pennsylvania.”

Now, my transplant was from a live donor and was a very personal thing.  It created a relationship between my sister and me that is particular only to us.  That being said, my mother’s transplant was performed because someone else found in themselves the desire to provide a gift of eye sight, liver, kidney and many other organs and tissues to people that needed them upon their unfortunate death.  I believe being an organ donor is the most unselfish act a person can do.  It will bring upon change for other people in their lives that cannot be described.

I urge all people to be donors if they can.  The people who receive the life that you give them will not be able to thank you in person, but it is my belief that they will be able to thank you someday.  Thank you for reading my story.  It is mine but there are so many others that have been written and could be written in the future, but for one unselfish act of being an organ donor.

Thank you,

Jim Thornton, MA, ATC, CES


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