Yes, today is my birthday.
I feel eternally grateful that I am celebrating it in gloriously healthy fashion thanks to the selfless gift that Rosaleene (Rose) Cook gave me on March 27, 2007 – that’s the day she donated her kidney to me.
On my birthday the previous July 1st I vividly remember blowing out the candles on my birthday cake and wishing – for the first time in such a way – for a new kidney to find me that year. It was a day later, July 2nd, that Rose called and said she’d read my story and would be more than happy to give me her kidney.
Birthday wishes do come true.
Unfortunately, over 108,000 people are currently waiting for an organ here in the US and many die while waiting. My friend David was one of them.
So, I hope you don’t mind if I make this birthday post a bit more personal and, out of desire to help make birthday wishes come true for the 108,000 still waiting, ask a small favor of each of you.
My wish today is that all of you – my friends, colleagues and readers whom I have come to treasure – will reflect on your ability to change someone’s life in the most significant way possible if you ever had the chance… Would you consider signing up to become an organ donor?
Signing your drivers license is a great first step but is not legally binding. What this means is that your loved ones could say “no” to donation despite your desire if the situation ever arose. Estimates based on registry status show that this happens nearly 20% of the time because of the unbearable pain that family members are in at the time they need to make a decision. I can’t even imagine being in that kind of pain and needing to be rational.
So, if you have considered it and you know you want to be an organ donor – and you don’t want your family to have to make such a decision on your behalf if the situation ever arose – please consider going to http://www.donatelife.net/CommitToDonation/ to sign up in a more legal fashion applicable to your state (you can change your mind at any time). It only takes a minute to sign up – really.
If you have the inclination to pursue living donation please use the “Email Me” form to let me know and I’ll connect you to someone who can advise you on next steps in your city.
Thank you to every single one of you simply for considering it and for sharing this day with me. I am honored to have each of you in my life!
I hope that over the next year as you make your own birthday wish you’ll keep my story in mind and make a bold wish with great intent!
As always, your comments are genuinely appreciated…
31 Response Comments
Awesome testimony and call to action. 108,000 could really use something I won’t need anymore. I’m an organ donor; I hope others will consider as well.
Happy Birthday! Thanks for what you do.
Thank you, David!
I hope you know how much your support means to me – as do the birthday wishes! 🙂
Happy Birthday, Lisa! Last year I tried to become a bone marrow donor but I was unfortunately ineligible – apparently an kind of respiratory issue will preclude you from that. I am absolutely an organ donor, always have been. Have a great day!
Lindsey,
I can’t thank you enough for the kind wishes, tweet, etc…!
It’s interesting that you mention the bone marrow donation desire – my kidney donor was on that registry and had never received a call. When she read my story she told me she realized that THAT was how she was meant to donate. People like you and Rose are such an inspiration to me!
Thank you for everything!
Lisa –
Happy birthday and you’re right – what a gift! This is a passion of mine, too, since I am the niece of 2 aunts and 2 uncles (all my dad’s siblings) who received kidneys. We as a family are forever grateful to the families and individuals who decided to be donors.
As you can imagine, I’ve been a donor as long as I can remember.
Have a wonderful birthday and I know this will be an amazing year for you. 🙂 Thank you for bringing attention to this – it’s too important to overlook.
Jeannie
Jeannie,
It’s amazing to me how when I mention my transplant to people I’ve only recently met just how many of them have a family member or friend who’ve been through the same experience. It boggles my mind that you have four close family members who have been through it. I hope they are all gloriously healthy as well…
I can’t thank you enough for your beautiful birthday wishes and your encouragement for the year ahead! It means so much to me! 🙂 Let’s get together soon…
Lisa, thanks for sharing your story. I’m new to SOBcon and thought it would be nice to know you – I wasn’t expecting to be so profoundly touched by your story for such a worthy cause. Hailing from Pittsburgh, I was excited to see the show “Three Rivers” air in the hopes that it would raise awareness but the show was rudely dubbed DOA after only a few episodes.
Keep spreading the word – I’m a donor but let me know if there are other ways to help. Here’s to another year of vibrant health…and to people like Rose. Enjoy!
Thank you Jeanne!
You know, we are both part of the “Inner Circle” that Steve has started as well, so I’m hoping we’ll have lots of opportunities to get to know each other and collaborate.
And thank you so much for the kind words about my story – it still feels profound to me because of the true angel that Rose is – *she* is a real inspiration and is full of such grace. Thank you so much for the beautiful birthday wish – I’m so blessed that you stopped by and took the time to write!
Happy Birthday Lisa! I will admit, being an organ donor was not an easy decision for me at first. But after hearing your story, I’m 1000% sure that I’ve made the right decision.
Blessings to you
Eric,
For many it’s not – that’s why I talk about it whenever I can. Rose says every time I see her or talk with her that she’d do it again in a heartbeat. 🙂
Blessings back to you as well – it has been such a gift to get to know you!
Happy Birthday Lisa,
Thank you for the reminder. We have, my husband and I, been registered donors for about 30 years. Our very first pediatrician was a big proponent. Anyway, I remembered when we moved to Tucson two years ago, this state makes it easy to do when you are getting your driver’s licence. But today I checked their Donate Life page and discovered that Arizona does not require family consent to carry out your decision to be an organ, eye or tissue donor.
Anyway we carry the cards and our children are aware of our wishes and they are also registered donors.
Have a great day, you do good work. You should declare July 1st Donor Awareness Day.
P.S. A mother and father quail just came on to my porch with their babies that are the size of a chicen egg. Brand new hatches. The mother walks first in line, then the babies, followed by the father. It is amazing to watch this survival technique. They were coming for water. I love watching the care shown by the parents.
Judy
Judy,
As always, I learn so much from you… How fascinating that it was your pediatrician who was a big proponent.
Interesting to know that Arizona does not require family consent. It is new in Illinois and I was in the statewide commercial that ran a few years ago introducing the law and encouraging people to sign up online.
Thank you for being donors and for your encouragement. I don’t know about July 1 being Donor Awareness Day but I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask – right?!! Perhaps take a lesson out of my own playbook… 🙂
And thanks for sharing the story about the quail; aren’t we women always leading the way… 🙂
Happy Birthday Lisa and what a great call to action for a very important cause. Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration to the rest of us! 😉
Thank you, Mack. 😉
That means a lot to me given that you have been such a tremendous source of inspiration to me!
Happy Birthday.
I am currently an organ donor and I hope this post convinces others how important it is.
Best,
Adele
P.S. Found you via unmarketing on Twitter
Adele,
So honored that you found me and so thankful for the wishes and the fact that you are a donor! I, too, hope it helps others to understand its importance and to realize that the people waiting on the list could be your colleague or neighbor…
All the best to you and thank you so much for taking the time to comment!
Happy Birthday Lisa!
As always, I enjoyed reading your latest blog entry. Hope you have a great day!
-Megan
Megan,
I am so thrilled that you commented! I sincerely appreciate the birthday wishes and the kind words about the blog. I hope you’ll consider starting your own blog soon!
All the very best to you…
Lisa P.,
Happy Birthday from another Lisa! Hope you have a fabulous, wonderful day filled with love, joy, and CHOCOLATE!
I’m in Illinois, signed up as organ donor thru drivers license for many years now, but will check further and make sure my family knows. Thanks for the info links.
Happy Birthday!
Lisa K.
Lisa,
I’m so touched that you stopped by and took the time to comment! I’m in Illinois too – I was actually in a statewide commercial a few years back encouraging people to go to DonateLife.com and sign up in Illinois. 🙂
Thank you for letting your family know and for the absolutely lovely birthday wish (you know me well by including chocolate)!
Hi Lisa, first and foremost, Happy Birthday! The gift of life is pretty hard to top for sure… what a very special friend you have in Rosaleene Cook.
One of my book “ideas” that I mentioned to you in the past could very well have a direct connection with your story.
Shoot me an email when you get a chance and I will explain…
Thanks and have a great (rest of your) birthday!
Steve O
Well you certainly have intrigued me!
Thank you so much for the beautiful wish…So glad that Drew connected us! I’ll send you an email for sure. 😉
Oh Lisa, I’m so glad I can say I’ve already given this gift to brighten your birthday, and may it be an awesome one! (I had no idea about your kidney until reading this post).
I’ve been a designated organ donor for 10 years with no plans to change. FYI to anyone with a Healthcare POA or other legally-binding end-of-life or healthcare planning instructions (often done as part of estate planning) you can stipulate there as well.
We are multi-dimensional beings: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual (the area I explore on my new blog The Accidental Seeker). Guess what? You can’t take the physical with you, so why not pay it forward when you depart? I hope everyone reading this who hasn’t yet considered doing so will after seeing your story.
Karen,
I am honored to have a fellow MENGer stop by and am so thrilled to hear that you, too, have a new blog! I wish you all the best with it and hope that in “seeking” you will find the abundance!
Thank you for being a donor as well and for the beautiful birthday wishes and donation wishes. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you being here and taking the time to comment! All my very best…
Happy birthday! Thanks for sharing your story about organ donation… my own kidneyversary on June 11th this year (my brother donated after I was on hemodialysis for 3.5 yes) and not a day goes by without me thinking of the gift I received. I saw @CateTV’s bday Tweet to you and found you here. May many more birthdays filled with health, lots of potassium-rich food, and pleanty of fluids await you for many years to come 🙂
*I had my own 3rd kidneyversary on June 11th
Happy Anniversary, Krissi! How blessed you are to have such a giving brother and to have received such an incredible gift.
I was never on hemo but I understand it takes quite a toll.
Thank you for the beautiful wishes – I wish the very same back to you! And thank you for taking the time to comment and share your own story – it means so much to me. 🙂
Happy, Happy Birthday Lisa and Rose 🙂
Both myself and my partner Marty are Organ Donors but not sure if we’re registerd on the DonateLife.net site – will check it out now – thanks for reminder.
Today is our puppy Chloe’s first b’day – she’s a rescue dog. Thanks to all those folks who just might consider becoming an organ donor – for you can become a “rescue” to a human being…….
http://www.twitvid.com/Z1SOU
Cate,
Thank you for the beautiful wish and for the gift to the world that you truly are!
Happy 2nd Chance Birthday Lisa. My husband of 17 years will be celebrating his 15th 2nd Chance Birthday on July 10, 2011. Bruce had a Liver Transplant in Philadelphia on 7/11/1996. I am hosting this joyous occasion with family, friends & neighbors & will be educating everyone on Organ & Tissue Donation and Awareness. “Don’t take your organs to Heaven, Heaven knows we need them here”. We are so very grateful to be where we are today, thanks to Organ Donation. Special Individuals who’s lives have changed because others care enough to share….life!. Enjoy.
Kim,
That’s phenomenal! Thank you so much for sharing your/his story with me and please wish him the happiest of 2nd Chance birthdays for me! It’s wonderful to hear how others are making a difference post-transplant by spreading the news and taking up the torch. Wishing you both all the very best and many more birthday celebrations!