A MESSAGE FROM Hilary
As a living kidney donor, this November, I'll be running the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon on the 6 month anniversary of my kidney donation! Call me crazy...but it's for a good reason: I'm running on behalf of the Chris Klug Foundation (CKF), a national nonprofit that educates on the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation! Not only am I training and running in their honor, but I am also fundraising for their cause: in support of organ donation. My goals are to raise funds for this incredible organization, raise awareness for living organ donation, and prove that, even with one kidney, YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS! Please consider becoming an organ donor. You will impact lives in ways you never imagined. If you'd like to hear more about my personal journey to being a living kidney donor, please continue reading!
On May 6th, I donated my kidney to a stranger. I don’t even know where to begin...but I know I need to emphasize one important point. I have been extremely blessed by this decision, and I can guarantee that I have benefited more from my donation than my recipient has. When I first saw the CBS news special on a man that needed a kidney on New Year’s Eve, I felt the desperation and helplessness in that man’s story. I knew that feeling, I had been there before.
Those that know me are aware that I have shared openly about the struggles we experienced with our oldest daughter, Ellie. The years of infertility and IVF, the days of pregnancy following the loss of her identical twin, the seemingly endless 2 months of hospital bed rest with little to no hope for her survival. The subsequent 2 months of NICU time following her birth, and then her open heart surgery at 5 months old. She made it...and then my husband, Jim, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While we had unending support from our amazing families and community, no one could make this better for us. It was during the span of those several years that I was desperate. Desperate for someone to say they could help us. Desperate for someone to say that they could make all of this better, make it all disappear. Desperate for someone to give us hope.
So when I saw the news story, I connected with this man in an unexplainable way. And I had the ability to actually give this man hope. It was a decision I simply felt I had to make. It just felt right. Within my own body, I had the cure to his condition, and I could supply it to him without any long-term effects to my own health or quality of life. Surprisingly and extraordinarily, I was a match for this man and could have donated directly to him. However, I chose a different route in an effort to benefit as many people as possible. Instead, I named him as my voucher recipient. He will receive a kidney at the end of the chain effect that has been initiated, using science and crossmatching to determine the best possible match in the kidney registry. I donated to an unknown male recipient, and that person’s daughter will donate to someone else. The cascading chain will continue for an undetermined number of transplants.
The perspective and appreciation I have gained from this experience are unquantifiable. I am forever grateful that I saw that news clip on that New Years' Eve. I am in awe of the connection that can be made between complete strangers, and the ability we have to change the course of another’s life. More than anything, I am inspired by the ability we have to provide hope for one another, and the positive change that happens within ourselves when we provide that to someone else.
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