Come on! You have a heart! Now GIVE, So Someone Else Can Too!

Are you an Organ Donor?

No, you don't have to actually answer that question in the comments. I just needed an opening line ;-)

I'm a donor. Sort of.

Considering I'm blind as a bat without my glasses/contacts, I doubt anyone would ever want my eyes.

And since I've been a smoker for almost 20yrs, and have had a double lung surgery in the past 6 - where they removed 15% of my lungs - yeah ... don't think anyone will be lining up for those either.

Everything else?

TAKE IT!

If I'm left in such a state that I'll never be able to use my organs again, why not let someone else have them?

They're not going to help anyone tucked away in a pine box, 6ft under dirt, grass and the occasional dog/bird/wild animal poo.

I don't believe anyone in my own family has ever required an organ to survive.

But I DO know of others who have.


Recently, a fellow Blogger (Hallie, from the Wonderful World of Wieners) brought the importance of the subject to my attention again.

She is trying to raise $5000 for the United Network for Organ Sharing, in honour of her father, and the boy (and his family) who donated his heart 6yrs ago, so her dad could continue to live.


Read their full story HERE.


Visit the site to DONATE here! http://www.firstgiving.com/hallietwomey - I just checked the site, and she is at 60% of her goal! WooHoo!

To raise organ donation awareness, she has put together a Raffle as her fundraiser, and will be drawing 25 prizes for 25 days in Aug.

You can receive a ballot to enter the raffle by donating through the link above.

Some of the donations for prizes she has already received are:

*gift cards
*stunning jewelry
*$200 worth of steaks
*lobster feast for 2 to be mailed wherever you live
*expensive high end cosmetics*gorgeous artwork
*tickets to the RED SOX!!!!!!
*handcrafted items that make me weak with jealousy
*Starbucks coffee maker
*$400 round of golf for 4 @ Andover County Club - (New England only)
*4 passes to OMNI Theatre - (New England only)
*4 passes to Franklin Park Zoo - (New England only)
*4 passes to the JFK Library and Museum - (New England only)

and so, so SO MUCH MORE!!!

You can also see pics of some of the prizes listed above, as well as MANY more HERE!

I have offered to send her something for the Raffle.

I was going with a Nova Scotia theme. But it turns out some of the items I ended up with were actually made in New Brunswick, and SOLD in NS.

So now, it's more of a Maritimer theme ;-)

From My Heart To Yours

I'm sending a bottle of NS Maple Syrup, a bag of Salt Water Taffy from Jennifer's of Nova Scotia, a bag of NS Maple Kisses from Jennifer's and a Celtic cross pewter pendant necklace, from a local shop, Aitkens Pewter.

I also pestered my favourite afternoon DJ at FX 101.9 and he gave me two CD's to send along of good 'ol NS Country Boys ;-) Thanks Russell!

JD Clarke, who I know and is absolutely AWESOME! And Tim Who? Who I'm honestly not familiar with (and couldn't find a website for), but if you like country music, you can't go wrong with Maritime Country Music!

A co-worker (thanks Dave!) also answered my request for 'donation stuff' and gave me a Multi-function Pedometer

and an FM Auto Scan Radio with headphones, to throw into my 'From My Heart To Yours' box.

I've also donated to the fund.

Which means ... I have the opportunity to win any one of the other prizes being drawn.

YES! Mama needs some new jewelry!



When I brought home the first items, and explained to the boys what they were for, it opened the door for the conversation of organ donation with them.

They asked of course what it meant, and I gave them a couple of examples.

Then I told them I was an organ donor.

It didn't quite bring about the reaction I expected.

I'm not sure WHAT I expected, but it wasn't the 'WHATNOWAYHOWCOMEAREYOUGONNADIENOW?' that I got.

Then, I told them THEY were organ donors too.

Yeah.

That didn't go over so well at first.

'You mean they're going to cut us open while we're ALIVE and take out our INSIDES?!?!?!'

But once I explained, AGAIN, that I would NEVER give away any of their body parts, unless I was ABSOLUTELY SURE they were never ever ever ever going to use them again, and they wouldn't feel a thing, they were OK with it.

They understood the importance of it.

What if their heart or lungs could save another child.

That was a pretty powerful thought.

And it's a very important decision.

I hope I never need an organ transplant. Although, with my lungs, it wouldn't surprise me if I found myself on one of those lists 30yrs down the road.

I just hope, when MY time comes, that my 'match' took the time to fill out that little organ donation section on their license.

Did you fill out yours?

Would you like to donate to Hallie's fundraiser? Either by donating an item for the raffle, or giving to the fund.

Sure you would!

Come on! You have a heart! Now GIVE, so someone else can too!

K.