A powerful journey from living with an artificial heart to a heart transplant....

Friday, June 11, 2010

Did I convince them?

I have begun invading the world.

Well it starts with a lab at the University of Guelph. Haha!

I was invited by my sister-in-law (Amanda) who works for my father-in-law (Steve) to do a talk about organ donation for young adults that work in the lab. There were about 90-100 people, mostly students from what I understand. I put together a little board with pictures of the LVAD, my ICD, my Xray and significant statistics about organ donation.

They were a great audience. At first, very serious. I guess, people don't understand how "casual" I am about my circumstances. I try not to take it seriously. I don't want anyone to feel bad about what has happened to me. I want them to be convinced to sign their consent for organ and tissue donation. That's all I ask.

I think I did convince most of the students. They seemed to be very interested and asked some interesting questions. I find it a benefit for me when people ask questions because I can learn new things with my audience. I love to learn new things.

I really do enjoy doing these "talks" for people. When I can keep it casual and light I find it not too stressful. Stress is not a good thing for me or Ivan. If anyone knows of a place that I can do a talk to share my story and, most importantly, convince more people to sign their consent, send me a message and we can discuss it further.




1 comment:

  1. Wow Andrea ... way to spread the word and in front of all those white coats to boot.

    David Bourne

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