Organ Donation Should Be Assumed Unless Otherwise Stated

I’ve been reading a couple of blogs lately that detail the struggles and triumphs of those affected with Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

A few weeks ago, I came across an article in the Toronto Star that detailed a blog written by CF fighter Natalia Ritchie (pictured with her daughter, Scarlett). She not only writes about her disease and its effects on a personal level, but also about her new baby (born with a surrogate), so that her daughter would be able read about her mom if Natalia didn’t receive her new lungs, by way of a double lung transplant, in time. (During my reading, I’ve decided that, at some point in my life, I want to be a surrogate. I also wanted to give Natalia my lungs, but I didn’t really think that through…)

After reading only a couple of her posts, I was hooked on Natalia’s story of her trials and tribulations, her zest for life, and her unconditional love for her family. She has become a true inspiration to me because she lives her life so fully and is determined to fight this disease to the very end. It would be so easy for her to become depressed and give in to the pain, but she stays strong for her family, her daughter, and her husband.

Recently, Natalia had taken a turn for the worse and was admitted to ICU at Toronto General Hospital and, through her blog, her family and friends were updating Natalia’s “web supporters” about the different options that were available to keep Natalia alive.

Of course, the best possible option would be a double lung transplant. (One of the most inspiring things about Natalia is that, while she prayed that she would get healthy, she never once prayed for lungs, knowing full well that someone’s life would have to end in order for hers to continue. That is amazing – I would think that it’d be so easy to purely focus on the chance of new lungs and detach from the idea that a donor would have to die in order for her to receive those lungs).

On Saturday, I logged onto her blog (then being written by a family friend) to see that she had received the call that lungs were available. I didn’t think I could be so relieved for someone that I had never met. Since then, I’ve been logging on her site as much as possible for updates, and so far she is doing well. To think that she will actually get to be a mother to her daughter and have many more years with her husband as a result of organ donation is truly incredible.

I’ve always opted for organ donation, as have most members of my immediate family. The thing is, organ donation has never been front and centre with me because it has never affected me personally. This is not to say that Natalia’s story is in any way personal to me as I have never met her, but I’ve become invested in her journey and her health – her character and her journey has touched me so much that I now am determined to spread the word about organ donation.

I focus here on CF because of Natalia and Ronnie Sharpe - whose story and blog are truly inspiring for those with CF, and also for those without - but there are so many other diseases that people must endure and that can be cured or, if not, then lessened, by organ donation.

Both Natalia and Ronnie feel blessed by their disease because it has given them the opportunity to love life and change the lives of others through their optimism. I want to join in that attempt to change the lives of others by advocating organ donation. Let me ask you this: what are you going to do with your perfectly good organs if, God forbid, you die? You can’t use them anymore, so why not donate them to someone who can? Saving one life through the death of another is one of the most powerful gifts that can be given by a human being, and modern day science can make it happen if people take the time to sign their donor cards and/or express their wishes to loved ones.

While organ donation is a personal choice right now – it is not considered an option if people do not sign their donor cards or tell their families of their wishes to donate – it should be the assumed choice unless a person states otherwise. If a person is strongly opposed to organ donation, you can bet that they will make that known. Otherwise, with one person’s death, eight lives could be saved – this is reason enough for organ donation to be much more common than it is. I encourage everyone to visit these blogs and really get a sense of what organ donation can do for those with incurable diseases, to get to “know” Natalia and Ronnie, and to appreciate their journeys as they fight for their lives.

Love,

Bella

If you wish to be an organ donator, please visit this site to make it official.

Momma and Daddy Bella

Too much of what I write about is about me. Sure, I write about my life, so these posts are bound to be about me to an extent, but all this Bella talk gets annoying, am I right? I don’t use nearly enough of this space to write about the important people in my life and the influence they’ve had on me. As such, I want to give a “shout out” to two of the best parents to thank them for being there for me during everything I’ve gone through, constantly supportive and always loving.

As is usually the case with my writing, I started off talking about my latest weight loss adventure and ended up delving into my emotional issues that I not so fondly experienced for almost my entire University career (and maybe a bit before). I don’t know why my posts always turn so self-evaluating – really, I want to be funny, but I guess that’s the writer side of me coming out. It’s therapeutic and cathartic. I have an essay on the therapeutic tendencies of writing if anyone would like to read it! (No?...)

The purpose of this post is to express my gratefulness towards my parents, but also to reach out to anyone who may have gone through what I did. In no way is this intended to be a pity party – yeah, it was hard, but I got through it, and I’m a lot stronger now than I was then. Don't get me wrong - I had and DO have a great life. My experiences in life didn't have anything to do with my depression and, despite the general consensus that it’s easy to “snap out of” or that people just say they’re depressed for attention, believe me, if I really wanted attention, I would get it another way. Depression is nothing to be ashamed of and not something that is in anyone’s control. For the most part, it's a result of a chemical imbalance in your body that can be stabilized with medication (and I LOVE my drugs). I want this post to not only be about my parents, but to also reach out to anyone who’s experienced the really low points that come with depression and to let them know that when all else fails, go to anyone who you know will listen and will try to understand as best they can, whoever that may be.

My parents were front and centre for my few years of debilitating depression. Now, I don’t mean that I was physically unable to get on with my life, and I won’t get into details about how exactly it’s debilitating (trust me, you guys do not want to become that familiar with my mind), but suffice it to say that I feel like I lost a few years of my life to that God forsaken “chemical imbalance”.

Just a wee bit of a digression (it does have a link to my topic in general, I promise): I’ve finally come to terms with why I’m fat. Ready for it? It’s going to be a shocker … I eat too much. Wow, right?! Did not see that coming. Who would have thought that eating too much contributes to weight gain! What a novel idea. Something tells me that second and third helpings are what are preventing me from prancing around in a bikini every day of my life. Yeah, I’d do it.

Anyway, as a result of this revelation and my incessant need to become hot at some point in my life – preferably, like, tomorrow – I’ve recently started doing Herbal Magic, and so far so good. What really motivates me is how on board my parents were when I told them what I was doing. They think it’s great. My mom makes me special fruit salads for lunch so that I am getting the proper amount of fruit servings that I’m supposed to, and my dad sets aside extras of dinner for me to prepare the way I want it to be so that I’m following my meal plan correctly. They’ve been amazingly supportive and helpful, and I firmly believe that their support and encouragement will not only get me to goal, but will also play a huge part in my maintenance success.

I don’t think we give our parents enough credit for what they do and the love that they provide when their kids (ok, me) are hellions to live with. My parents always let me know that they would do whatever they could to help me get better. My mom, especially, was always there to talk and cry to and boy, did I ever do that. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to live with me when I was so irritable, cranky, cried all the time, and wouldn’t leave my room. I mean, hell, I didn’t even want to be around me, so I can’t imagine that anyone else would have wanted to be. I would snap at both of them for no reason, yet they were always there with open arms to give me a hug when I hit those points of indescribable melancholy (thank you for that word, Thesaurus). It was the thought of them that kept me going when I didn’t want to exist anymore, because I knew that, no matter what, they loved me for me, issues and all.

My parents have been constants in my life, always delivering unconditional love and support and forever reassuring me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. They’ve always tried to boost my confidence and tackle the negative self image that I continually project in my every day life (which isn’t easy, because I am very pessimistic – although incredibly hilarious, if I do say so myself). I will be forever grateful to them for everything they’ve done and continue to do for me. I don’t want to say that my parents are better than all the other parents out there but, well, they are. I guess they’re just really good at it.

Love,

Bella