Today, my eyes gladly seek out the colorful primroses in my front yard.
The daffodils timidly poke through the earth in search of warmth, like the rest of us. They are a true symbol of spring — even more than some furry, big-toothed, grumpy groundhog. These bedraggled yet bright flowers encourage me to jump in my car and drive straight to Home Depot’s garden center to verify that winter is nearing an end.
Spring flowers remind us that, amid the bleak brown and gray landscape, hope for renewal still blooms: Another symbol of life for me.
I read the paper in a certain order of interest, flipping quickly to get to the point. One destination is the obituary pages. Scanning rapidly, I search for names I recognize, then I browse through looking at age (compared to mine) and reason for death.
I am intrigued by the whole concept of summing up a life in a couple of sometimes poorly written paragraphs. From personal experience, I have learned that the words are meant to validate that person’s life. They lived, were loved and will be missed. Life is for the living, and whoever is reading the obituary needs to know how special that person was. To remember, in print, the impact one person had in this world.
Sadly, a childhood friend passed away last November at Seattle’s University Hospital. Tammi O’Brien Shanks was a beloved mother of two, adored wife, loving daughter and aunt, a peacekeeper sister, an honored friend, amazing NW Hospital nurse, and an inspiration for many people through www.caringbridge.org. She was 46-years-old. Living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare autoimmune disorder, since 2001, Tammi died while waiting next-in-line for a lung transplant from the UW lung transplant program. Her funeral at Christ the King Catholic Church in North Seattle (where we also attended grade school and junior high, eons ago) was standing-room only. Her love for family and friends touched us all at one point in her incredible and all-too-short lifetime.
If you could save one life, would you do it? Imagine that one life touching countless others, continuing to live, all because you took five minutes out of your busy schedule to complete two sentences. By becoming an organ and tissue donor, as many as 50 lives could be saved or improved. Most of us would agree to this altruistic plea — but maybe more information is needed before you decide to give the gift of life.
According to organdonor.gov, 77 people receive organ transplants every day. However, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants because of the shortage of donated organs. The Mayo Clinic reports that nearly 100,000 people are on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list. That is a huge discrepancy between need and actual donation. In the U.S., as of Feb. 5, there are 253 transplant centers operating one or more transplant programs.
Many grieving families acknowledge comfort in knowing their donation helped other people live. My friend Tammi donated her corneas so that someone else might see.
February is the month of valentines and love. What better time to show your humanitarian spirit by registering now? We never know when we might need this incredible gift of life — and we’ll be forever grateful for the donor’s willingness to give hope, even in death.
Federal Way resident Jan Hallahan is a writer and mom: Jan12160@yahoo.com.
Fast facts
• Organ donation is consistent with the beliefs of most religions.
• Parents can legally give consent for children under age 18 to become organ donors. Children need donations too.
• The decision to use an organ is based on strict medical criteria, not age. Very few medical conditions automatically disqualify you from donating organs.
• The cost of organ donation is paid for by the transplant recipient.
• Designate your decision on your driver’s license when you renew your license.
• The United Network for Organ Sharing (www.unos.org) is responsible for maintaining the national organ transplant network.
• Also learn more at www.organdonor.gov or www.donatelifenw.org.
