A day or so ago I sent the following email to the people in my contact list but I don't send a lot of emails out and so the list of people is lacking. There are also others who deserve the same thank you and since I know they have also periodically read my blog I am posting it here.
Before you read the email I just wanted to add that I will begin to blog more frequently now that I have a grasp of the night shift. And beside that thought, it's raining so I can't dig around in the dirt outside right now...
Cheers!
From: Don Millette
To: "All who I have come into contact with during the past year"
Subject: Thank You...
I wanted to take this opportunity to just say thank you to all the people in my life who have really been there to support my family throughout my mother's illness, and now ultimately her recovery. In some way or another you have all been a part of it even if you were not aware. You may be family, someone I met through the transplant program, or even someone who purchased products new and used from me. All, in some way, helped with our journey and for that I want to thank you sincerely.
Reading my blogs and sending me comments has also really helped me cope with the tremendous task of walking through all that is involved in being the primary support for someone like my mother. Her recovery has been speedy and quite amazing. She has been blessed with a second chance at life, and now a little over three months after her transplant she is leading a completely normal life. She has been given the fantastic gift of life, one that I believe we all take too lightly sometimes but I know she appreciates every moment she is able to breath easily. She has told me that not a minute goes by that she does not think about the donor and their amazing gift...
For 18 years, my mother dealt with an illness known as Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. This disease robbed her of the ability to breath and in essence, to live a normal healthy life. Her entire world was restricted to the house and when trying to overcome the barriers, when just trying to go grocery shopping or to a mall to get some time away from the house, she was tethered to oxygen tanks and frequent panic attacks trying to breath. While it wasn't always horrible, we had many good times, it was in no way a normal life. In the past two years she had deteriorated to the point where end stage disease almost took her life. Had she not had a lung transplant, the frequent lung infections would have taken her life... If someone had not made the "AMAZING" choice to donate their loved one's organs my mother would have soon passed away leaving many grand children and my brother and I without a mother... Thanks to that amazing gifte she went from being unable to do simple tasks such as walk from the car to the front door. To complete and utter freedom and independance. She is no longer frustrated and upset when she breaths and can literally do anything she likes again, including playing with my kids. Teaching them how to kick a ball around in the yard, gardening... You name it, she is now doing it again and it's fantastic...
My words I can assure you, while they are absolute and sincere they are not enough to thank the donor family and all the support that I received...
Through twitter, I came across a fantastic Ontario website that I would encourage you do visit...
If your computer isn't too speedy it may not function correctly but I found it to be quite an innovative way of explaining Organ donation... Even if you have already signed a donor card and spoken to your loved ones you may just find the site cool to visit...
You can visit the site at http://recycleme.org/
Sincerely,
Don Millette.
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