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Gift of Life
“Without the organ donor, there is no story, no hope, no transplant. But when there is an organ donor, life springs from death, sorrow turns to hope and a terrible loss becomes a gift.”
1 year ago on October 3rd was the day I received the ultimate gift that restored me back to life! In honor of my donor Jason and his family please join me LIVE on Facebook, Saturday October 3rd at 12:15pm for a Pilates Fusion Workout!
Donations appreciated and ALL proceeds go directly to Midwest Transplant Network. Jason’s family hopes for 100 people who are not organ donors to become registered organ donors in Jason’s honor!
http://www.mwtn.org
Jason’s behind the camera capturing a photo of his family on Christmas morning in 2017. His father Mike, mother Sharron, older brother Chris and his wife Rachel, and their two children, Devin and Cassidy.
This is Jason at his first week of preschool in 1992.
There is not a day that goes by that Jason and his family are not in my thoughts! My prayers are always with them and my heart is full of gratitude for their gift of life!
I wrote this back in March when I received a letter and picture from Jason’s family.
To my hero~
Although we will never meet.
You gave me life and continue to keep me on my feet.
Your legacy will live on and your life continues to inspire me.
I wear my scar proud in honor of your selfless act and the life you lived to endlessly give back.
To God be the glory as I remind myself not to continue to grieve but give thanks for an exceptional human being.
Written in honor of my organ donor Jason, who will forever remain my hero! Jason was 29 years old. He was an Executive Chef, volunteered at a camp for individuals with disabilities, and proud to be a part of the Honor Guard. He was greatly loved.
It’s hard to express in words all of the emotions I have experienced from receiving this gift. I had regained my life from someones loss. That’s a lot of heaviness to accept and I felt a deep sense of responsibility to honor my gift! With that said, I want to give back and bring light and awareness to organ donation.
It has been an absolute blessing to have Jason’s family in my life. His family are passionate advocates for organ donation.
“Kahley’s support, friendship and enthusiasm for life has brought us much comfort this past year. We are excited to finally meet her and her family October 3rd and are thrilled she chose to honor Jason and the Midwest Transplant Network this way. If you aren’t an organ donor already, please consider becoming one by visiting the Organ Donor Registry website for your area and signing up today. Let’s make smiles like this happen for all the little ones whose mommy, daddy, brother, sister, nana or grampa is in a medical crisis. The grief of losing our son will always be with us, but knowing he lives on through his gift of life to others brings us much peace and comfort.”
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
One of the biggest lessons this journey has taught me is that all I have control over is to accept what comes my way. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, all we have is today, and I’m thankful for TODAY!!
In the Waiting Line
“The word says
For the spirit of heaviness
Put on the garment of praise
That’s how we fight our battles”
I was apprehensive about documenting my journey through this experience but then thought my story and purpose in life is to always help others. I hope my story finds you Hope, Joy, Love, and most importantly PEACE. I haven’t felt this peaceful in my life in a very long time. We as a society get so caught up in our daily routine that we forget what’s important, from the moment we rise rushing through each day until we rest. I was the best example of that. I lost sight of the gorgeous surroundings this beautiful earth has to offer.
As most of you know, I started having symptoms of nausea in August that quickly progressed to fatigue. I went to the walk in clinic at my doctors and after receiving the results from my blood work was told to go to the ER. From there, I was taken to the ICU at KU MED. They quickly did more tests and a liver biopsy finding that I have an autoimmune disease that caused acute liver failure (end stage). I completed all of the tests at KU MED to be put on the list to receive a full liver transplant. Now as I’m “in the waiting line” to receive a liver it could be a matter of minutes to weeks to receive.
My hopes are high, my spirits are up, but I’m not going to lie and say I’m not scared. I’m scared and sometimes numb and I’m ok with that. God, my family, friends, studio family, and so many other amazing people I haven’t met and look forward to meeting have made my heart full and joyful! The generous outpour of love and kindness is remarkable! The good in this world far outweighs the bad! The kindness and unselfish acts far outreaches the evil!
I will continue to update when I can and more importantly encourage you to take care of you! No judgment here, just want to address the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s overall great for our mental and physical ability to get through small and large bumps that may come through all of our journeys in life!
Thank you, thank you, graciously thank you!!!!
I love you all! I look forward to seeing you all after I get through this journey!️️️
