Transplant Games honor those who give the greatest gift
BY MARY H. WU • AUGUST 14, 2010 | Lower Hudson News, LoHud
"What transplant have you had? Where are you from?"
I turned around and saw a blond-haired boy who could not have been more than 10 years old. He had a round and shiny red pin that read in bold and proud letters, "Team Ohio, Donate Life, 2010 Transplant Games." I smiled and said: "I have had two kidney transplants. I am from New York, Team Liberty. I live in the suburban area in a small town in Ossining, though. Let's swap pins. Have you had a transplant?"
The boy — who turned out to be the child of a transplant recipient — grinned and handed me his red pin; I handed him my shiny blue pin with the Statue of Liberty holding her torch proudly. A connection was made at the Transplant Games.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Transplant Games, which are held every two years in a U.S. state by the National Kidney Foundation. This year's event, July 30-Aug. 4, was held in Madison, Wis., attracting some 20,000 people from across the country, including many hundreds from New York.
Each state featured its own team of organ-transplant-recipient athletes, who participate in a specific sport or multiple sports and push above and beyond to prove to themselves and the world that an organ transplant saves, preserves and creates life. Transplant recipients, donor families, living donors, and anyone who is even remotely involved with the organ-transplant community came together at the Transplant Games to either compete, heal, but, most of all, connect.
I had my first kidney transplant at age 6; the second was at 12, both from deceased donors. I'm 28 now, an administrative assistant at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Sleepy Hollow. Attending the Transplant Games was a true honor that cannot even be explained; it has to be experienced.
I made another connection with a father who sported a picture of a beautiful teenage girl with shiny eyes, a bright pearly smile, and curly hair that was twisted upward. "She's my hero," the man explained.
"She died 10 years ago. Car accident. She would be your age now. ... She is a hero because her organs saved as many lives as possible. I am here speaking to you because of her. She is a hero. She is my hero"
"Your daughter is beautiful," I told him. "She is a hero. You, your wife, and all the donor families and living donors are heroes for saving our lives with your decision." He wrapped his arms around me and we held each other so tight that we could barely breathe.
Transplant recipients compete for the medals in swimming, tennis, track and field, basketball, badminton, golf, bowling, cycling, table tennis, volleyball, racquetball, ballroom dancing, and a 5K race. In addition to the major sport events and ongoing celebration over "The Gift of Life," there are triumphant and heartbreaking moments dedicated to living donors and organ donor families.
There also is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind quilt that contains patches from donor families. They are dedicated to honor loved ones who donated organs. The Transplant Games are the ultimate showcase of the power of organ donation and transplantation and how we are all connected to one another. This connection was evident in the stories shared and heard, the ceremonies attended, the tears shed, the songs sung, the quilt patches made, the sports played, and the unbreakable relationships formed — including in the swapping of pins that encourage organ and tissue donation.
I encourage everyone to attend such an inspirational event; it reminds us that life is truly the most precious gift ever. Yet, in spite of all the successes and triumphs, there are still more than 100,000 individuals waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, including kidney, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and/or a combination.
LEARN MORE
To find out more about organ donation in New York and the Transplant Games, visit www.donatelifeny.org/enroll/enroll.html.
PICTURED ABOVE:
Mary H. Wu, a two-time kidney transplant recipient, dressed in a Statue of Liberty foam crown and blinking glasses at the 2010 Transplant Games in Madison, Wis. (Mary H. Wu)
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment