In case you didn't catch Natalia Ritchie's article in the Star two weeks ago, CBC is doing a series on her wait for lungs. Check it out: http://www.cbc.ca/connect/2009/11/on-a-mission-new-lungs.html
1 year ago
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
I was going to publish something completely different tonight. But I heard this story on the news and then came across this article (extracted version below). It emphasizes two points: one, we never know when we have seen our last sunrise, had our last lunch with a friend or watched our last favourite comedy. And two, organ donation is very real. Lungs do not come from "Lung Mart"--though that would be convenient. Rather, they come from living, breathing, people who had a lot to offer the world and were taken from us prematurely. Thankfully, donors and their loved ones are strong and selfless enough to make the decision to donate their organs so that others can continue a legacy for two.
Travis CooperThe lives of five people were saved Thursday by Travis Cooper, a LaSalle 18-year-old who crashed his motorcycle in London Tuesday and was kept on life support until his organs were harvested for transplant to people languishing on waiting lists.
“His heart went to a young girl, his lungs went to a young man, his liver to a fellow, one kidney got a person off dialysis and another kidney got another person off dialysis,” Cooper’s mother Jennifer Varga recounted Thursday. The surgery to remove his organs started at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and ended at 3 a.m. Thursday.
Two years ago, Varga, a health professional, had discussed signing an organ donor card with Cooper and his brother Tyler, now 19. “I told them it’s the greatest gift you can give,” and both signed, she said.
The donor’s family isn’t told the identity of the recipients, who are from all over the province.
The fact that her son’s death resulted in life-saving organs for five people provides some solace for Varga. Her son, she said, was: an honour roll student in high school; an avid athlete who played football, hockey, baseball and soccer; a bass player in a local band called Chainsaw Armada; a volunteer who was great with children and the elderly; and a “mover” who had spent his high school years at various locations.
He graduated from Sandwich Secondary in LaSalle, but also went to Massey in South Windsor, and lived for short periods in Texas (where Varga was working for a time) and Florida, where his father Sherwood Cooper Jr. is a veterinarian.
And he loved his motorcycle, his mom said.
“He would ride it everywhere.”
The accident, she said, happened Tuesday afternoon on Cooper’s first day at Fanshawe College's architectural technology program in London. He had his classroom numbers scrawled on his hand and his laptop in his backpack at the time of the crash.
The Kawasaki motorcycle Cooper was riding collided with a car making a left turn, said London police Const. Amy Phillipo.
Witnesses told police the motorcycle was racing and weaving through traffic prior to the collision, The London Free Press reported.
While Cooper was wearing a helmet, he sustained serious injuries after he was thrown from the bike.
He was taken to University Hospital in London. His mother said the staff in the hospital’s intensive care unit were “amazing” through the ordeal.
Varga said she was told that just before the accident, her son was going quickly and had changed lanes, which may have meant the motorist didn’t see him coming as she made the left turn.
Varga also said that it’s important for people to know that a helmet doesn’t protect you in such a severe crash. Although her son’s helmet wasn’t damaged in any way, his brain was “totally destroyed.”
Scott Scantlebury, the spokesman for the Greater Essex County District School Board, said a number of staff at Sandwich Secondary knew Cooper, “and we’ve had counsellors available at the high school.”
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Families First Funeral Home.
Visitation will take place at their Dougall Avenue chapel on Saturday from 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
The funeral will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. at Glenwood United Church at 1825 Grand Marais Rd. W.
His mother recalled that when her son was 15 and living with her in Texas, a 17-year-old boy collapsed on a gym floor and went into cardiac arrest. Cooper’s actions resulted in the boy — whose heart stopped on three separate occasions while they waited 25 minutes for paramedics — surviving.
On Thursday, her son “gave again,” when his organs were donated, said Varga.
“That’s six people he’s helped along the way.”
© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star
This is a couple minutes late for Media Monday but I had the day "off" to enjoy a nice little holiday we call Labour Day.
Talk about Labour, this girl Jessica is living with a lung function of 11% which makes tasks like getting dressed in the morning or putting on socks feel like the equivalent of running a marathon. Despite this, Jessica is participating in a 5K to raise awareness for organ donation in the UK (more specifically, a foundation called Live Life Then Give Life). She has been waiting for a new set of lungs for 4 years (and we thought our waiting list was long!)
Read all about her here.
Also check out Ronnie's blog at Run Sickboy Run where I discovered this inspirational story along with many others (including his own).
As my own--muchly overshadowed--sidenote, I went for my first kayak of the year today (I know, a little late... but it was chilly this year and I can't/refuse to drive the pickup truck). It felt great and I didn't get tired, even after an hour of kayaking in the rough waters of Georgian Bay I honestly felt like I could go all day. Yay stamina!
I have referred to this site a number of times and it is usually successful in answering most questions you have thought of (and never thought of!): Cystic-L
It is actually a free e-mail service/support group for patients, families, friends and health-support workers of PWCF (people with Cystic Fibrosis) that started up in 1994. I used to subscribe to it, but then my inbox got increasingly crowded, so I opted to visit the 'handbook' section of the site instead. I recently found a new appreciation for this website when I clicked on the PFTs Explained For You! link. Amazing how after 22 years, I can still be confused by all the numbers on this test. The Handbook is a little outdated in some sections, but still very useful.
What is a PFT Test?
Here is a great video that shows what it is: PFT Test
The only difference with this one is that I am usually sitting down and my face turns a nice shade of lobster red. I also often see floaters/stars by the time I am done blowing, then I spend a lot of time talking to the respirologist so I can avoid doing it again. By the way, this shows one attempt--depending on how you fair, you will usually do multiple attempts until you have done the absolute best you can do (the average is 3-4 attempts).
I will try to explain more in-depth what a PFT test is later this week, but here is the gist of it:
- A PFT test measures the volume of air in your lungs and how much air you can blow out in one second (there are also many, many other things it tests **See Handbook above:" PFTS Explained for You!"** )
- This is important because it compares the functioning of your lungs to other people your age and size
- It helps determine what state your lungs are in, e.g. if you are stable, sick, need to be referred for a lung-transplant, etc.
I come across quite a few interesting websites and blogs regarding CF from time to time, so I will start sharing them here.
For today, I found this site called Club CF. Sounds oh-so-exclusive, but there is a section for caregivers too. I liked this site because it had a section for all ages (20+, 30+, 40+, etc.) and it had some inspirational stories. It seems a little bare right now, but I think it will catch on.
