Post by Daniel Mark Extrom on Mar 30, 2014 15:32:23 GMT -6
The Legacy
I loved my life and had great plans
for dreams I would pursue.
I loved to learn and loved to work –
so much for me to do.
But plans and dreams – it always seems –
are subject to delay,
for life can bring surprises
that take us from our way.
I didn’t mean to leave so soon;
so much was left undone.
We always think that later’s there:
it comes with every sun.
I wanted to accomplish much –
perhaps do something great.
And though I have now moved along,
I’ve learned it’s not too late.
My family loved me very much,
and taught me well to share.
And I am able yet to give,
though I am not there.
There is a special part of me
that helps someone to live.
I’ve done something great, you see:
I've found a way to give.
So a part of me still sees the sun,
in a different way.
My legacy gives life, you see,
each and every day.
So mourn me not, my family:
my spirit’s still in you.
The lesson that you taught so well
gives work I love to do.
I’m grateful I can help someone:
I’ve left a legacy
so someone else can yet live on
with some help from me.
The work I do now helps to hold
a family together.
Keep the memory of my gift
in your hearts forever.
I hope that you find comfort
in my memory:
The work I do helps someone live –
my greatest legacy.
A Note of Explanation:
A simple message in a simple rhyme from an organ donor to his or her family.
This was written as a dedication to organ donors, and is intended to give comfort to the families of organ donors. Just as there is often jubilation in the hearts and minds of organ recipients and their families, there is a deep sadness for the loss of a loved one whose organ's are being donated. And while there is a satisfaction in knowing that the organs are helping someone else to live, it cannot overcome the grief of their loss. At best, it's a mitigation. And it's a strange but natural dichotomy between the relief of the recipient and his or her family, and the grief of the donor's family, tempered by the knowledge of being a help to someone who might actually be anonymous to the donor family.
April is Organ Donation Month. And organ donation is so important. If you are so moved, register to be a donor. I know someone who is alive today, after two heart transplants and one kidney transplant. These transplants were not necessitated by any poor health habits. Rather, he was born with a defective heart and received one of the first infant heart transplants in the US several days after birth. But the years of medications and stress on his body ultimately required a second heart transplant while he was in his early twenties, while he was a college student. And he is now only 25, but he is doing well, and he goes around the USA giving speeches to encourage organ donation.
And he and his family are so grateful to the donors and their families, because they, along with some wonderful doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals, gave him life. Twice. Literally.
In a few days, I will run the poem that I wrote for him while he was in the hospital (for several months) waiting for his second heart transplant. Watch for it.
All of these are on my website. "The Legacy" is now also on the blog page, and I will run "Have A Heart" on the blog site within a few days.
DME