W8: Following Through And Saving A Life
How many of us think about donating blood or becoming a live donor but we fail to follow through? Life gets busy, of course. Good thing there are people who do follow through, because this story is a poignant reminder that there are people in desperate need. And, in this story, it’s someone who has a great deal to lose. Listen to this five-minute story about a woman who almost lost her husband, and turned it into an opportunity to save a newborn.
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W8: FOLLOWING THROUGH AND SAVING A LIFE
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE LIKE ME… YOU HEAR A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE IN NEED OR YOU’RE MADE AWARE OF A STATISTIC, AND YOU THINK ABOUT GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY TO HELP, LIKE GIVING BLOOD…BUT THEN LIFE GETS BUSY AND YOU NEVER DO IT? I DO THIS ALL THE TIME. I HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS…BUT I USUALLY LACK THE FOLLOW THROUGH. “IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS” DOESN’T REALLY APPLY HERE.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY ACTED ON THEIR GOOD IDEA OF BEING A LIVING DONOR, AND IT’S A LESSON FOR ME IN WHAT ACTION CAN BRING TO YOU….AND OTHERS…IF YOU JUST PUSH ASIDE YOUR BUSY LIFE FOR A BIT….AND FOLLOW THROUGH.
EPISODE
KATIE WHITE WATCHED AS HER OLDER SON, WARREN, HELD HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, SONNY, FOR THE FIRST TIME JUST AFTER THEY BROUGHT THE HEALTHY NEWBORN HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL. HOWEVER, JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER, THEY NOTICED SONNY’S SKIN CHANGING TO A YELLOWISH COLOR. UNSURE OF WHAT WAS CAUSING IT, SHE TOOK SONNY INTO THE DOCTOR AND RECEIVED NEWS THAT WOULD CHANGE HER LIFE: SONNY’S LIVER WASN’T FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BILIARY ATRESIA. THIS IS WHEN THE BILE IS BLOCKED IN THE LIVER AND DOESN’T EMPTY INTO THE SMALL INTESTINE AS IT NORMALLY WOULD, AND THE BUILDUP OF BILE ENDS UP DAMAGING THE LIVER, EVENTUALLY CAUSING CIRROSIS. SONNY IMMEDIATELY UNDERWENT A MEDICAL PROCEDURE CALLED A KASAI, WHERE THE BLOCKED DUCTS ARE REMOVED AND THERE’S A NEW PATHWAY CREATED FROM THE LIVER TO THE SMALL INTESTINE. UNFORTUNATETLY, THE PROCEDURE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL, AND THE ONLY REMAINING OPTION WAS A LIVER TRANSPLANT.
THE CHALLENGE OF COURSE, IS FINDING A COMPATIBLE DONOR. SONNY WAS BATTLING END-STAGE LIVER DISEASE AND HE WAS RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
SANDY FLASH AND HER HUSBAND JIM LIVE IN WESTERN NEW YORK, AND IN 2022, JIM HAD REQUIRED A LIVER TRANSPLANT. THEY WERE INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO FIND A DONOR FOR JIM AND TRAVELED TO THE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOR A SUCCESSFUL OPERATION. WHILE HE WAS RECOVERING, SANDY THOUGHT ABOUT HOW SLIM THEIR CHANCES WERE TO HAVE FOUND THE RIGHT DONOR, AND SO SHE MADE A COMMITMENT TO GO BACK TO THE CLEVELAND CLINIC AND GET TESTED AS A LIVING DONOR AS A WAY OF EXPRESSING HER GRATITUDE. BY DOING THIS, IF SHE WERE TO EVER BE MATCHED WITH THE RIGHT PATIENT IN NEED, SANDY WOULD RECEIVE A CALL TO RETURN TO THE CLEVELAND CLINIC AND DONATE A PORTION OF HER OWN LIVER, WHICH WOULD THEN BE TRANSPLANTED TO A NEW RECIPIENT.
IT TURNED OUT THAT SANDY WAS A PERFECT MATCH FOR SONNY. SHE GOT THE CALL, AND, WHILE IT CAUGHT HER OFFGUARD, SHE DIDN’T HESITATE. SHE HEADED BACK TO CLEVELAND.
FOR KATIE AND HER FAMILY, THEY WENT FROM HAVING FEELINGS OF DESPAIR AFTER THEY FOUND OUT SONNY NEEDED A TRANSPLANT, TO FEELINGS OF ELATION KNOWING THAT A MATCH WAS FOUND, TO FEAR, AS THEY LEARNED ABOUT THE RISKS INVOLVED WITH THE UPCOMING TRANSPLANT. IT WAS A LOT TO PROCESS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
IT WAS TIME FOR THE SURGERY. 15-20% OF SANDY’S LIVER WAS REMOVED, A PORTION OF THE LEFT LOBE, AND QUICKLY TRANSPLANTED TO SONNY, WHERE THE ORIGINAL LIVER WAS REMOVED AND THE NEW PIECE OF LIVER WAS ATTACHED.
THERE WERE A FEW COMPLICATIONS WITH SONNY AT FIRST, BUT AFTER A FEW MONTHS IN THE HOSPITAL, THE PROCEDURE WAS DEEMED A SUCCESS. OVER TIME, HE WAS ABLE TO BEGIN EATING REGULAR FOODS AGAIN AND PLAYING WITH HIS OLDER BROTHER, WARREN.
MEANWHILE, SANDY KNEW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT THE LIFE SHE HAD SAVED. ONCE SONNY REACHED A CERTAIN MILESTONE IN HIS RECOVERY, BOTH SANDY AND KATIE WORKED WITH THE TRANSPLANT TEAM TO ARRANGE A MEETING.
THEY MET ONE AFTERNOON IN JULY 2024 AT CLEVELAND CLINIC. SANDY WAS NERVOUS, NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT OR WHO SHE WAS ABOUT TO MEET, BUT IT ALL DISAPPEARED ONCE SHE SAW THE BIG SMILE ON A LITTLE BOY’S FACE AS HE RAN UP TO HER TO SAY HELLO. SHE SAID ONCE SHE LEARNED HIS NAME, IT ALL MADE SENSE. OF COURSE, HIS NAME IS SONNY.
KATIE SAID, “I FELT A SENSE OF RELIEF AS I MET SANDY FOR THE FIRST TIME… I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO MEET THE PERSON WHO SAVED MY BABY’S LIFE.”
YEARS AGO, WHEN I FILLED OUT THE FORMS FOR MY DRIVER’S LICENSE, I SELECTED THE OPTION TO BE AN ORGAN DONOR…I FELT LIKE THAT WAS A GOOD THING TO DO…. BUT I’M NOT SOMEONE WHO HAS THOUGHT MUCH ABOUT BEING A LIVING DONOR…I MEAN, IT REQUIRES FOLLOW THROUGH.
SANDY HAS SEEN THE RECEIVING AND GIVING ENDS OF ORGAN DONATION AND SHE’LL NEVER BE THE SAME.
SHE SAID, “I THINK MANY PEOPLE, LIKE ME, DON’T REALLY THINK ABOUT IT UNTIL IT TOUCHES THEM PERSONALLY. I’M SHARING MY STORY TO HOPEFULLY INSPIRE OTHERS TO BECOME LIVING ORGAN DONORS. THE REWARDS OF THE EXPERIENCE, TO KNOW THAT YOU HELPED SOMEONE IN DIRE NEED…ARE INCREDIBLY FULFILLING.”
HEARING SANDY TALK ABOUT IT MAKES ME WONDER WHETHER THE ORGAN DONOR SYMBOL ON MY DRIVER’S LICENSE IS ENOUGH. FOR SONNY’S FAMILY…I’M SURE THEY WAKE UP EVERY DAY BEING THANKFUL THAT SANDY HAD THE COURAGE, AND THE FOLLOW-THROUGH, TO SAVE A LIFE.