Sharing memory of a moving event in 2019 for organ donors, recipients

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Indiana mother's story underlines importance of living organ donation

This is shared from Facebook post

A distant cousin who I've only met through Facebook posted this story about an Indiana woman who shares my maiden name and, unfortunately, the same disease.

Kelly MacDonald Rice, 42, is a mother of two who desperately needs a kidney. 

Like me, she is living with Polycystic Kidney Disease, and my heart went out to her.

I inherited the disease from my father's (McDonald/ MacDonald) side. I call it the family curse. He and four of his siblings had PKD. Several cousins also have/had it.

I was extremely fortunate to receive a kidney five years ago from an altruistic donor, Robin Gilmartin. I'll be forever grateful to her for her life-changing gift.  

I messaged Kelly yesterday and learned she had started dialysis treatments last week.

Please read her story and, if you're able, consider becoming a living organ donor. You'll be giving someone a new lease on life.

August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month

National Minority Donor Awareness Month is a collaborative initiative of the National Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Multicultural Action Group to save and improve the quality of life of diverse communities by creating a positive culture for organ, eye and tissue donation. National Minority Donor Awareness Month stems from National Minority Donor Awareness Week, founded in 1996 by the National MOTTEP to bring heightened awareness to donation and transplantation in multicultural communities – focusing primarily on African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaskan Native communities.

National Minority Donor Awareness Month is focused on outreach and education, including virtual events and messaging to:

• Provide education about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation 
• Encourage donor registration & family conversations about donation
• Promote healthy living and disease prevention to decrease the need for transplantation

For more information visit www.donatelife.net/nmdam/

Today is National Blue & Green Day to highlight organ, eye, tissue donation

During National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, the public is encouraged to wear blue and green and to engage in sharing the Donate Life message and promoting the importance of registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor. Below are some free downloadable resources to help observe National Donate Life Blue & Green Day.  You can also refer to the National Donate Life Month page for more information. National Donate Life Blue & Green Day is part of Donate Life America’s National Donate Life Month — observed in April each year, National Donate Life Month features an entire month of activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.  For National Donate Life Month 2020, Donate Life America was inspired the springtime scene of a garden. A garden and insects within it serve as symbols of hope, courage and transformed life— themes found within the donation and transplantation journey. Learn more about National Donate Life Month, other National Observance days and organ donation awareness celebrations, and more things you can do to support Donate Life America.

Griffin Hospital in Derby recognized for organ donor services

DERBY - Griffin Hospital recently received the Health and Human Services Work Place for Life Gold Recognition Award from New England Donor Services for raising awareness about organ donation.

The WPFL Hospital Campaign encourages hospitals to coordinate donor awareness and registry enrollment activities with their staff, patients, and community members. 

The goals of the campaign are to increase organ and tissue donation awareness in the surrounding community, cultivate a hospital culture that incorporates educating and registering potential donors as part of their standard mission, and provide online organ and tissue donor registration opportunities.

Griffin was a valued partner of New England Donor Services for the 2018 campaign, assisting in 11 tissue donations.

Partners in the WPFL campaign are committed to building awareness of the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donation registration. According to New England Donor Services, there are more than 110,000 people in the U.S. are on the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplants. 

One donor has the potential of saving up to nine lives through organ donation and can enhance the lives of 50 people through tissue donation.

For more information about organ donation, visit donatelife.net.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Shelton woman, 32, seeks liver donor to help save her life

Enjoy 2-hour Connecticut River cruise, support living organ donor fund

Dear readers,

My wonderful kidney donor Robin Gilmartin sent this info to me and I told her I'd share it here. 

Not sure yet if I can attend, but I hope this event is a great success to support a worthy cause.

Patti

*Interested in becoming a living organ donor? Please click here to learn about transplantation at Yale-New Haven Hospital. 

Recuperation journey: April is National Donate Life Month

Celebrated in April each year, National Donate Life Month features local, regional, and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

As I approach my one-year anniversary in May of receiving a kidney from an altruistic donor I wanted to share this reminder about organ donation. 
I celebrate her and I could never thank her enough! 
I also celebrate Ralph's sister Suzanne, who originally came forward last year to donate to me, but her kidney went to another needy Connecticut resident who also was suffering with kidney disease.

Consider registering to be an organ donor! It's the best gift you can give another person.

Recuperation journey: These are a few of my favorite posts

... from 2017

Since today's my birthday I thought I'd give myself a present and take a walk down memory lane. 
I chose five of my favorite blog posts from the last 12 months. Here they are:

#5 - Cousins share special link


#4 - Best photo

#3 - Gnomes

#2 - A bear - I was home but wasn't looking out the window so I missed the bear lumbering through our yard. It would have been a great photo.

and my favorite:

#1 - Met my kidney donor - It doesn't get any better than that!       


Those are the top 5, unless something unforeseen needs to be added over the holiday weekend. Not that I have any major partying planned, but one never knows what life will bring!

Newsletter features re-opening of Shelton store, Donate to Life fundraiser

Dear readers, 

Today's Valley Voice newsletter features a grand re-opening celebration at Marks of Design jewelry store in Shelton and a Donate for Life fundraiser in Middletown.  

Thanks for reading,

Patti