Will's Story

Yesterday I enjoyed a nice chat over coffee with my friend Will Lally at The Farmhouse Coffee. Honestly, it was almost a meet-up that couldn't have happened. Thanks to COPD, a chronic lung disease, last summer Will's lung capacity was down to just 12%. The doctors made it clear to Will. He needed a lung transplant or he was going to die. Will was only 52 at the time. What happened next? I'll let Will tell you.

  "Six months ago today I got a phone call at 1:15 am telling me that I need to come to Temple University Hospital as soon as possible. They told me that there was an organ donor that matched me and today was going to be my transplant day. Jane, Emalee and Justin were with me as we spent a few hours in a room getting prepped for surgery. Lots of blood work and meds, etc. We actually got to see the helicopter land that was carrying my new lungs. I spent the afternoon and evening in surgery receiving a double lung transplant. My life has changed since. I had end stage lung disease and was getting worse every day. I am doing very well now and am grateful every single day to my donor, my Hero!!! I now get to enjoy my life every day. Its a shame that I can't meet him or her to thank them for saving my life. I am hoping to be able to meet my donor's family someday and maybe even others that were saved that day by him or her. A huge thanks to Temple University Hospital and their amazing staff and Gift of Life Donor Program. I am hoping that my posts to FB and my soon becoming a volunteer ambassador for the Gift of Life will help get the word out about the importance of organ and tissue donation." 

In the sixth months since the transplant Will has spent four months in the hospital, including a month in a coma and a bout with pneumonia. It hasn't been easy, but Will feels "great" now. He knows that he has a new lease on life and he's not about to waste it. His COPD was likely a result of years spent as an auto mechanic, and a volunteer fire-fighter, and yes, cigarettes. He had his last smoke 3 years ago, and there's no way he ever will touch one again. He knows that if he were to do so then his new lungs would have been better off going to someone else. Instead, Will is dedicating his life to creating wider awareness of organ donation, including volunteering at the Donor Dash run in Philadelphia on April 14. When I run the 10K on that day, I will be running for Will, his donor, Lexi, Lea, Josh, etc. In addition to raising awareness for The Gift of Life program I have set up a fundraising page for the event with a goal of $1,000., and every penny of it goes directly to Gift of Life. The medications that a transplant recipient must take to stay alive can cost upwards of $350,000. a year or more. Please consider making a donation by clcking here.

One more thing that I'd like to leave you with. I, like many of us, have chosen to be an organ donor in the event of my death by selecting the box when I renewed my driver's licence. Make sure that your family members are aware of your wishes. In Pennsylvania, when I potential donor who intended to donate their organs has died, the family can override their wishes. Then someone else will be denied their chance to stay alive. I look forward to seeing Will many more times over the years, he's a good guy, and I am grateful that modern science and the Gift of Life people have allowed him to stick around with us, hopefully for many more years!