On the Other Side

I can still remember the day I got the call, it was actually 4 years exactly yesterday. I was walking back from class and listened to a voicemail that my mom had left. I could tell something was wrong, it’s that gut feeling when you know something you don’t want to hear is coming. I honestly thought my mom was going to tell me our dog died, at the time he was 12 and not exactly in the best condition.  Obesity runs in our dogs because of all the free cow milk they have access to.

When my mom answered her cell phone I could tell she had been crying.  Then she said last thing I ever expected, “Ashley, Uncle Eugene died today.”

My uncle was the oldest of my mothers siblings. He had just turned 50 and said he couldn’t believe it he was that old. He said he had never felt younger.

That day, my uncle had a massive heart attack. He had been having symptoms for a few days but didn’t want to worry us so he didn’t tell anyone.  Sadly, he had the heart attack the day he was scheduled to go to a doctor for the symptoms and he never made it.

Having an uncle that young, die so suddenly was very difficult for me and my family.  My mother was devastated, and I don’t think the word devastated accurately describes how she felt inside.  It took her a long time before I really got my mother back, but honestly, I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes.  Losing my brother or sister is something I hope I never have to deal with because I don’t know how I would.

In a time of so much grief, while my grandmother and her children were standing around the bed holding my uncle’s hand praying, they made the decision to do something that would change someone else’s life.  Although, they couldn’t donate the majority of his organs because he had a massive heart attack, they donated all of the organs they could from my uncle.  In the end his corneas, skin and bone were donated.

Although the grief of my uncle’s death didn’t go away, by donating the little that we could, it helped to make it a little easier to bear.  We knew that we were helping a family in a way that someone had helped us 15 years earlier.  We were able to give the gift of sight to a woman in Flint, something that we are so thankful for.

I truly hope that my two blog posts about organ donation help you to see that something so small as having that sticker on your license can make a huge difference in a family’s life.  The circumstances are never easy, but the results are something that cannot be replaced.  The ability to know your grandfather, being able to see again so you can play with your kids, and thousands of other stories.  I appreciate you taking the time to read something so close to my heart.