Organ Donor

Thursday, July 28, 2005
I keep meaning to get my license changed so that I'm listed as an organ donor. Hey, it's not like I'll be needing them anymore, but others will.

I was a flower girl at my cousin Renie's wedding when I was around 7-years-old. She married her childhood sweetheart and neighbor. She was really beautiful and the wedding was huge, I still remember how grand it was. My dress was more like a poofy gown you'd see in Cinderella, I really felt like a princess and was in awe of my cousin during all the wedding preparations. Probably more so because everyone said she looked so much like my sister Serina. And unfortunately like Serina, she'd also die young. A year or so after her wedding, she began to have liver problems. She was only in her late 20s. I remember visiting her at St. Vincents hospital in the city, she was so pale and extremely skinny in her hospital dressing gown. It was shocking, but she was laughing and joking with my dad out in one of the waiting rooms despite having an IV attached to her. She needed a new liver but they couldn't find her one. During that same time Mickey Mantle who abused his liver by drinking most of his life, was also going through the same thing, but being who he was, he got a new liver within the week. My cousin sadly did not.

A friend at work alerted me to the following press release, he's worked with the woman mentioned before and her situation seems very similar. I of course hope her story ends better.

NEW YORK (July 20, 2005) Shari Kurzrok is two months away from her wedding. The 31-year-old PR executive recently spearheaded the largest-ever national blood drive. Today, she is fighting for her life. Her doctors say she will not live if she doesn't receive a complete liver transplant within days, and her colleagues in the PR industry are urgently mobilizing to help her.

Potential donors must be Type A or Type O blood. Anyone wanting to help Shari with a liver transplant referral should call: 877-223-3386 or email: liverforalife@yahoo.com
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Jeff Jarvis' blog Buzz Machine was voted the best media blog by Forbes Magazine. Read about how I met Jarvis last Fall here

News: 'Worthless' gifts get the good girls