So . . . how was your day?
As good as it might have been, there isn’t any way it was as great as was mine.
Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about it.
I was present at an event on Wednesday morning at which a woman said: “If you want to have a good community, you have to give to that community.”
She was three weeks from having donated a kidney to a stranger.
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The Kamloops Kidney Support Group gathers on the second Wednesday and second Saturday of each month. We are there to provide support and share experiences with others who are or have been impacted by kidney disease.
On Wednesday, we were 15 people strong. One attendee has been doing peritoneal dialysis (PD) for a few months as he awaits a transplant. Another is preparing to start PD dialysis as he, too, waits for a transplant. There were others on hand who are dealing with kidney disease in one stage or another, one of whom does hemo-dialysis three times a week. There also were two people there, including my wife, Dorothy, who have had transplants.
Understand that these gatherings are completely informal. We meet in the Barside Lounge and Grill inside Chances Casino, have coffee, maybe some breakfast, and talk about our kidney-related experiences.
This time, as we were getting comfortable, a stranger strolled to our table and pulled up a chair. As we do in these instances, we went around the table, introducing ourselves and telling our stories.
When it got to the new person, I am sure the others were like me, expecting to hear from someone who recently had been diagnosed with kidney disease.
Instead, she started with: “I donated a kidney . . . three weeks ago today.” Her voice touched by emotion, she proceeded to tell us that she had given a kidney to a complete stranger.
After making the decision to be a living donor, she had begun the process by sitting down at her computer and Googling “BC Transplant living donor.” That led to her giving a kidney to a stranger — he isn’t a stranger any more — at Vancouver General Hospital.
“He’s a single father of two,” she said, “and I’m touched by that.”
One of the attendees asked: “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing well,” she replied. “A little discomfort . . . but I had a knee replaced last year and this was a breeze compared to that.”
When asked why she had decided to be a living donor, she responded: “I feel like I’m the luckiest person . . . it wasn’t a religion thing or anything.
“If you want to have a good community, you have to give to that community.”
Think about that for a moment or two.
And now she wants to be an advocate for organ donation and transplantation.
She wants to have a good community, so she will give to that community.
Yes, there are good people among us. Sometimes you don’t even have to go looking for them; they come to you.
It was a great day, indeed.
TAKING NOTE 