Originally published between 2011 and 2014, this post has been updated but preserves its original publish date as content is migrated from the archives of The Flavored Word.
If only I had a heart …
A few years ago, a gentleman I knew died because a metal pipe struck him in the head. He had been helping his son build a batting cage and his SUV was still loaded with unrestrained “parts” in the back. During his drive to work Monday he slid off the road, hit a tree, and a pipe from the back lunged forward and struck a fatal blow to his head.
I think about this man every now and then … not because he was a dear friend. At best, he was a friendly acquaintance. But still, I think about him. And I tell people I know about what happened … I tell college kids and adults alike to clean out the crap in their cars because these kinds of things happen, but they never should.
When I was in high school, I had a friend tell me she wasn’t afraid of death because she knew it wasn’t her decision to make. Because she knew that she, like all living things, actually belonged to God and if he decided to take her back, well, then that was his right.
I don’t know how I feel about that. But, like the man I wrote about above, I think about her now and then and what she said still haunts me a little. Because I don’t like to think that it’s not up to me when I leave this world. I don’t like to think that God might decide to take me back and away from my family whenever he decides it’s the right time. And honestly, it makes me angry.
But. What I do know is this. If it does become my time before I think I am ready, I can only hope that a part of my physical self will go on in this world and help another person live through organ donation. The man who died, he was an organ donor. And he was also a recipient. He had juvenile diabetes and, in his thirties, was fortunate to get the call for a kidney transplant. After the surgery he lived a healthy, full life. A life, that thanks to a donor, he was able to have with his wife and children. A life that was tragically taken away far too soon, but still one that left behind a legacy of cherished memories for his loved ones.
Please, make sure you and your loved ones are organ donors. For more information visit OrganDonor.gov and know that in the eleven minutes it may take you to register as a donor, someone else will be added to the national waiting list. Someone else. I hope it’s not one of my someone “elses” nor yours.
Cover image from Pexels’ free library.
DISCLAIMER: I’m a writer and an editor. And I try my best to make sure every post is articulate and free from errors. However, being that I edit my own work—and it’s next to impossible to properly edit your own work—I admit, occasionally there may be an error or two I miss. But doing so doesn’t make me an idiot so don’t be mean. Just smile, pat yourself on the back for finding an error and be glad you’re not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes … xoxox
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