"A fighter like you. Someone could benefit from your heart," Kyla Aquino tells an African American man stopping by the organ registry booth at a heath fair in Oak Park. Her charm disarms him and he changes his "no" to a "maybe."
Aquino, 33, a volunteer with Donate Life California, is a two-time kidney transplant recipient who has raised awareness about organ donations since she was 17. Her enormous smile melts hearts and breaks down barriers. Death is a difficult subject to talk about with strangers, she says, but she does is with grace. She makes a special effort to reach out to minorities where the need for organ donors is greatest.
"I have the courage to speak," Aquino says. "If I have the talents to convey the message, I've got to do my darndest."
What started as flu symptoms for Aquino at age 14 ended with kidney failure at 16. She received a kidney from her father, which was later rejected 6 years later by her body. She then received a kidney from her mother, Joy Aquino, shown below. She became an activist for the cause of organ donation early in life, writing a book at age 17 called "Kyla's Kidney Adventure." At 33 she is still fighting for the cause. "When you see a problem where the solution is so simple, you think why not get to the solution?" Aquino said.
Her mother said she raised her with this message in mind:"You're here for a purpose and if you're not helping you're in the way!" She's proud of her daughter's spirit of volunteerism. "She's really meant for it," she said.
Read more
{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}
No comments:
Post a Comment