I have been a Registered Nurse for 25 years so I have been on both sides of the fence with healthcare. I am a wife and a mother of a very busy eleven year old son and I am in need of a liver transplant. Unfortunately, there are not enough organs available for those in need and on average, eighteen people die each and every day because of this sad fact. My goal in starting this blog is to increase awareness and to help educate the public of the need for organ donation by sharing my story and by posting the faces and the stories of those who are waiting for an organ transplant and who are holding on to hope for life as well as those who have experienced the transplant process.
This is a story of some of the rough patches and storms along my path to liver failure. And the story of my faith in God in knowing that he has been right there beside me and has carried me through the storms along the way when I couldn’t possibly have walked alone. My story is primarily in “Suzanne’s Path To Liver Failure” but you will also see small “snipits” of my story throughout the stories that I have posted & I plan to update my story from time to time in future blog posts as well.
Please help to increase public awareness about the need for organ donation. We want to hear your story and put a face on the tens of thousands of names of people who are awaiting organ transplant!! Please submit your story along with pictures of you or your loved one who is awaiting organ transplant.
I was born and raised in the south and have a strong southern drawl so I am happy to be writing instead of speaking but you may notice a southern saying throughout my writings so consider yourself forewarned.
“I was recently interviewed by one of my spiritual mentors, Steve Casteel for “The United Methodist Hour – Time that Makes the Difference” for a two-part series on finding Joy and to help promote organ donation awareness”.
Click on the links below to view Parts 1 & 2 of the interview:
Part-one January 15, 2012: http://vimeo.com/35111164
Part-two January 22, 2012: http://vimeo.com/35488260
Local media covers Faces of Hope for Life’s efforts to increase awareness of the need for organ donors:
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120416/NEWS/204160316/Drive-under-way-organ-tissue-donors
…and she also shot a short video on her iphone of “my journey”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6MEUV9ec-o