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

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Association Kick-off Meeting!!

This past Saturday was our first meeting for the Life Donation Awareness Association. There were 19 volunteers! We discussed many issues and concluded that we will divide into groups to tackle the different directions. I presented the volunteers with a "Volunteer Form" for each individual to express their particular interests, availability and contact information. These forms will start the separation of the groups.

If you are from the the Region of Waterloo or the County of Wellington you can get more information by emailing andrea@lifedonationawareness.com. We are open to any and all willing volunteers.

There was an article published in the Waterloo Record that was also picked up by the Guelph Mercury. I'm really happy with the support of the local media. Check out the article here.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Cambridge Times Article

Oh I am so excited about this article! I did the interview to essentially promote the Life Donation Awareness Association of Waterloo/Wellington and it turned out great! Check it out.

Say 'yes' to organ and tissue donation.

So far I have 15 people scheduled to attend this weekends meeting. I hope I have convinced more volunteers to join. I have so much passion in me about this group, it's hard to contain!

I was doing the interview with the reporter and she asked me where I get all of my energy from. I told her it's from my batteries! Ha!

Kindness Sewn with a Needle

There are times when I am completely struck with the kindness others have shown me. This is one of those moments.

If you look back to April there is a class in the Ottawa area that sent me wonderful hand-made cards. It was a beautiful package to open. The teacher of that class, Lisa, is a friend of the family.

Lisa is very talented in many ways and decided to make this amazing, encouraging quilt, just for me! It's unbelievable! The attached card said, "We hope this quilt will give you comfort, warmth and strength." I could not have said it better. It has already warmed my body and my heart.



I want to send a shout out to Lisa's class and a very, very big thank you to Lisa. You have given me a gift with magical powers to brighten my days and my hopes for the future. Your sincerity and compassion goes much deeper than the surface. Thank you.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl!

The trillium calendar has been finished and is on it's way to my door! Here's a sneak peek of my December picture. This years focus is for Trillium employees and those involved in making the calls when an organ becomes available. I can't wait to see the finished product!


And here's the cover that will undoubtedly melt your heart...



Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Toronto Sun Article and Controversy

There was an article about yours truly in the Toronto Sun this past weekend. It was well done and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Heart pump saves patient

I hope this can get the point out about organ and tissue donation. I think it's more direct to that aspect as opposed to focusing just on my story.

Now here's the controversy part. If you go back to the article and click on the "Comments" tab. You will see this comment below by a person chosen to be referred to as Slappy.

"so given the natural course of things, this person shoul dhave died due to this condtion, but thanks to my tax dollars she id being kept alive after her due date. why do people fear death to the point of becoming a burden on the medical system in order to prolong the inevitible? at some point she will have to accept her death"

That's right. Taken directly from the website. There are several great replies after that idiot. Many that make me laugh. I certainly felt the need to reply as well as some of my family. It's clear that this person has no clue what he's talking about and has many of his/her own issues to deal with. I pity this person for the sadness and negativity in their life. Check it out. You will enjoy some of the comments.