Have I Ever Said Thank You?

*re-posted from August 4, 2008 because today it needs to be said again*

I'm not sure I have here anyway, but to the all of the families out there that have the compassion and wherewithal to see past their own grief and say yes to organ donation when their loved one has died, I say thank you.

Thank you to my donor's family, who two years ago made the decision to donate their loved one's organs not only to people that needed it to survive but to the research that improved my own life.

Everyday I get up and say thank you. Everyday something happens and I'm glad I had the transplant, even on days when I'm whining about mouth ulcers and annoyed that I need to stop what I'm doing to take yet another pill and even when I'm forking out the cheddar to pay for one more script, I'm very aware of just how grateful I am to my donors family. And to everyone else that made my islet transplant happen.

So to my Donor: Thank you
to my donor's family: Thank You
to the people that help fund the Chicago Project and UIC's islet transplant program: Thank you
to the doctors that do the work they do: Thank You
to the transplant coordinator, and nurses and office staff: Thank you
to the researchers, lab techs and everyone else behind the scenes that make islet research happen: Thank you
to my family and friends for putting up with the trips to Chicago and with me in general over the past three years: Thank you

And to the people that read and leave comments: thanks to you too!