Let’s cover the basics first: About 11 years ago, I was diagnosed with kidney disease. Almost three years ago, I started dialysis. About a year and half ago, I got a kidney transplant. Now I’m about to embark upon Make a Splash!, a 10-day, 200-mile kayak trip down the Lehigh River to the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean. It is truly a miracle that I am able to even attempt the trip, but I have no doubt that I will accomplish it.
The story of the movie “Shawshank Redemption” parallels the journey of my kidney disease and transplant. The film, which didn’t do very well at the box office, has come to be regarded as one of the top 100 movies ever made. In it, Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, goes to jail when he is found guilty of a crime he did not commit. Like me and my kidney disease, he is there through no fault of his own. In prison, Andy goes through terrible abuses, including beatings and rape, but is determined to maintain his humanity and refuses to give up hope.
Andy spends years planning his escape, and no one knows – not even his friend Red, played by Morgan Freeman. Andy tells Red that if he is ever paroled, he should go to a certain tree and walk along the nearby stone wall until he finds a rock that doesn’t belong there. That night, under cover of thunder and lightning, Andy escapes from Shawshank Prison through a 500-yard sewer pipe.
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