June 3: Happy Birthday, Joe! Thanks for saving my life.

[JT 137]

Yeah, a second thread started by me on the same day. But there's only twice annually that I post this stuff and I can't let the opportunity pass.

 

 

Today would have been the 29th birthday of Joe , the young guy whose decision to become an organ donor saved my life.

 

Joe was star HS QB in the Denver area, all-area in basketball, student body leader. All the things that indicate a perfect life ahead.

 

But Joe started experiencing "seizure like symptoms" in his teens. Infrequent, controlled by meds, eventually went away for a few years. On Dec 30, 2007, Joe called his Mom to tell her that he was having one of those seizures again. He never regained consciousness. Joe was 22 years old.

 

At the same time, I was preparing to die. I'd been on the waiting list for a double lung transplant for almost 4 years and time was running out. I had said goodbye to family and friends, awaiting the inevitable. Then the call came on January 2, 2008, that my life woud be spared.

 

I never thought there could be a more defining moment in my life until I received a note a few months later from Robin, who wanted to tell me about her son Joseph. We eventually met, and his family is mine. It was then that I knew that the transplant wasn't the end of my story, but the chance at a beginning focused on helping others going through the same thing I had. Even more, to make sure that every day I continued to breathe that someone would learn about Joe who hadn't heard about him before. This place has helped me in that quest, and for that I am grateful to each of you. Yes, each of you.

 

Happy Birthday, Joe. Thanks for making my life more than I ever thought it could be.

 

[MTSkiBum 1,602]

I read the story every time you post it

 

I am an organ donor. Hopefully I die of old age, but you never know.

[crackattack 513]

Very nice read.

[BiPolarBear 476]

I remember before you got the transplant, you were lagging and dragging on the basketball court. How great is it that you were not only saved but you got lungs from an athlete!

 

The chance to keep living was not wasted on you, brother.

[FeelingMN 273]

JT? More like Jimmy V.

 

Great post! And an awesome attitude about life.

 

[NorthernVike 2,080]

Joe didn't happen to leave a liver lying around did he? I could prolly use one in a few years if Bunny doesn't beat me to it.

 

 

Also, I thinnk everyone should be a donor.

[Old School 360]

Happy a birthday Joe!

[Sho Nuff 720]

Great read...happy birthday Joe

[parrot 789]

[OldMaid 1,838]

Glad you're here with us, JT.

[jerryskids 5,295]

This story never gets old, seriously. Raising my figurative glass to Joe (for real later).

[JT 137]

This story never gets old, seriously. Raising my figurative glass to Joe (for real later).

 

 

TO JOE!

[shotsup 832]

Always a touching read. to Joe and JT that continues to share

[Big Blue 06 195]

I read this story every time. God bless Joe and his family.

[paulinstl 295]

Very cool stuff.

 

[JT 137]

JT? More like Jimmy V.

 

Great post! And an awesome attitude about life.

 

 

Both Jersey Rutgers guys. Knew V well. Thanks for the comparison.

 

Maybe people who survive growing up in Jersey develop a special appreciation for life, as long as it happens virtually anywhere else.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,940]

Joe didn't happen to leave a liver lying around did he? I could prolly use one in a few years if Bunny doesn't beat me to it.

 

 

Also, I thinnk everyone should be a donor.

 

 

To Joe!!!

[OldMaid 1,838]

Organ donation is really a great gift. IMO everyone should do it. It's a win-win all the way around. You won't need them after you're dead, and if you can help someone in the process... why on earth wouldn't you?

 

I've elected to become an organ donor, ever since it was an option given at the time of renewing your license at the DMV.

[hoytdwow 202]

I thought this was going to be about Joe the Plumber

[Drizzay 648]

Do you have a cigarette I can bum?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kid, I kid!

[JT 137]

Do you have a cigarette I can bum?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kid, I kid!

 

Not smokes here, driz. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency www.alpha1.org

 

 

 

[JT 137]

Organ donation is really a great gift. IMO everyone should do it. It's a win-win all the way around. You won't need them after you're dead, and if you can help someone in the process... why on earth wouldn't you?

 

I've elected to become an organ donor, ever since it was an option given at the time of renewing your license at the DMV.

 

If Joe hadn't made that choice as a 16 yr old getting his license... and more important, if he hadn't made sure that his family/friends knew that was his choice... I'd be dead. In some states the family can still override the wishes of an organ donor. Joe's mom has told me that she struggled with it, but Joe had been adamant and "knowing Joseph, I figured he would haunt me forever for not doing what he wanted".

[OldMaid 1,838]

If Joe hadn't made that choice as a 16 yr old getting his license... and more important, if he hadn't made sure that his family/friends knew that was his choice... I'd be dead. In some states the family can still override the wishes of an organ donor. Joe's mom has told me that she struggled with it, but Joe had been adamant and "knowing Joseph, I figured he would haunt me forever for not doing what he wanted".

I don't understand the logic that loved ones sometimes have over this. Why wouldn't 't they want a piece of the person they lost, to live on through someone else? Or to turn a negative into a positive? I was under the assumption that the organs are removed anyway, for a traditional burial. What's the big deal?

[JT 137]

I don't understand the logic that loved ones sometimes have over this. Why wouldn't 't they want a piece of the person they lost, to live on through someone else? Or to turn a negative into a positive? I was under the assumption that the organs are removed anyway, for a traditional burial. What's the big deal?

 

Emotion. I don't understand it either, but some people are still very put off by the idea of organ donation. TV doesn't help; a recent study showed that viewers of Grey's Anatmoy have actually changed their view of donation to a more negative one because of the way it's portrayed on the show. In reality, the process is very un-dramatic aside from the personal stories involved. So for "entertainment value" they fill the shows with images of Snidely Whiplash doctors, lurking over the sick like vultures to claim their organs. In fact, the hospital has no involvement in the process of allocation, and entirely different teams of doctors would be working with a patient vs a transplant team.

 

People are slow to come around from things they've been told are true, regardless of how antiquated or unsound they are, especially in times of crisis.

[posty 2,307]

If someone wants to be an organ donor, good for them...

 

If someone doesn't want to be a donor, good for them...

[JT 137]

If someone wants to be an organ donor, good for them...

 

If someone doesn't want to be a donor, good for them...

 

Actually, neither is "good for them", as when the moment arises they are dead or imminently so.

 

But nobody here has disagreed that it's a personal choice.

[shotsup 832]

Joe didn't happen to leave a liver lying around did he? I could prolly use one in a few years if Bunny doesn't beat me to it.

 

 

Also, I thinnk everyone should be a donor.

Know your place in line Rook