Rule 91 and the End of an Era

Rule 91 -

"When you decide to walk away, don't look back."

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS

 Season 18 Finale on CBS May 25th, 2021

 

The Sheepdog's very first blog post hit the blogosphere on July 4, 2009. Since then, 744 more posts, including this one, have landed here and, as of today, they've been viewed over 318,000 times. Not bad for an amateur.

Back in December 2017, I announced I was retiring this blog (here). Then, 4 months later, I did my best Brett Favre imitation and un-retired it (here). 

During the nearly 12 years the 2nd Chance Sheepdog has prowled the blogosphere, many of you have received my posts via a free email subscription service provided by Feedburner, owned by Google. A few weeks ago, I received notice from Google stating that the email service will end in July as they will cease supporting it. In other words, emails of my posts will no longer go out. 

Over the years of writing this blog, whenever I've had a technical issue, Google customer service and assistance have been nonexistent. Plus, Zemanta, which I relied on, went away a few years ago, and now it's the Feedburner emails' turn, apparently. There's been numerous helpful widgets also go away during the blog's tenure. It's gotten frustrating, but since Blogger is free, Google has no incentive to make it a priority. I get that, and I'm ok with it. It's Google's platform - they can do with it as they wish.

I've considered moving the blog to a different platform, such as Wordpress, but building a blog is a ton of work, and I'm honestly just not interested in doing it a 2nd time. So, with the latest notice from Google, I've come full circle to where I was in December 2017 - it's time to, in accordance with Gibbs' Rule 91, walk away and not look back. No Brett Favre-ing this time. My blogging career is over.

I'm eternally grateful to everyone who has faithfully supported this endeavor by reading, commenting, and providing input during it's lifetime. Some of you are family, some are friends, and some are fellow transplant recipients. Others are people I met through politics and advocacy for organ and tissue donation. 

A few others provided technical support 12 years ago that was vital in taking an idea and turning it into this reality. As I'm sure they'd rather remain anonymous, I'll only mention them by their initials here - AC & EE - thank you! This site never would've existed without you.

There are things in the blog's history that I'm proud of and others that I'm not. If I could do it all over, most of the political posts would have never been written. I wish I'd spent more time writing about organ and tissue donation advocacy than that garbage. I wish the only political posts written would've been ones concerning legislation about organ and tissue donation. Politics as a whole is evil and destroying our country. Hatefulness, fighting, and arguing are at pandemic levels. All any of it does is fan the flames of division, and the political posts I wrote did a lot of fanning. I regret them tremendously.

In fact, in full disclosure - over the last 15 months during the pandemic, I've had a few such posts written and was ready to click "Publish". Only thing missing was a final review and the inclusion of a picture. What I was gonna say in those posts needed to be said. No one else was saying it, but I realized those posts wouldn't change anything or anyone's mind but would just be more "flame-fanning". So, even though I'd spent hours writing them, I deleted them and held my tongue. Perhaps some others out there should try doing the same. Just because you have "free speech" and can say something, it doesn't necessarily mean you should.

I am very proud, however, of my organ and tissue donation advocacy posts. In fact, I know of one person who directly received a life-saving organ transplant due to contacts made through this blog. I hope and pray there have been other lives saved and/or improved, too. However, even if there was only one, the blogging hours were worth it.

Probably, the funnest posts were the Music Mondays. Those brought back a lot of good memories and often helped kickstart my week. I hope my readers enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them.

I'm now 14+ years out from my heart transplant. I'm grateful every day for the additional time I've been given. I'm still doing great, and I think about my donor every day. He will forever be my hero.

If you're not registered as an organ and tissue donor, please do so. Americans are still suffering and dying every day. One day you could be someone's hero, just like Kent (pic - above left) was for me. 

In the short term, I'll post any comments I receive email notification on which follow my comment policy, but this is my last article. As I log out for the last time, I like to remind every one that I've been on Twitter (@2ChanceSheepdog) for a little over 2 years (here). I'd love for you to come follow me there. I've continued my organ and tissue donation advocacy activities and other posts there.

Thanks again everyone for spending some of your valuable time reading my blog these last 12 years. I truly hope you enjoyed it. May God bless you all.

Sincerely,

The Second Chance Sheepdog a.k.a. Johnny

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

Ever heard, "say what you mean and mean what you say?" I sure have. Heard it many times, and it's the theme of today's post which has been gnawing on me for about a week. Hang with me as you start reading as I'm probably not going where you think I am.

I've got 3 questions for you, and here's the first two:

1. Do you believe that "Black Lives Matter"?
2. Do you believe that "All Lives Matter"? 

Did you answer "yes"? If so, is that a truthful answer? Better be sure, because the truth will be revealed in question #3 later in this post.

I've been reviewing the transplant waiting list statistics. Those "statistics" are not just numbers. They represent real people - sick people with spouses, children, families, and good friends. These folks need help.

Currently, across the country, about 122,000 organs are needed for transplant, and organ failure doesn't discriminate based upon the color of a person's skin. In fact, the national waiting list is made up of approximately 40% white and 60% minorities (29% black, 20% Hispanic, and 11% other - click here, then "category" = waiting list, and then "organ by ethnicity" to see the data). Everyone on the list has one thing in common - a slow, suffering death is imminent if a matching donated organ doesn't come available in time. 

Each day in the U.S.:

• someone is added to the list every 9 minutes (160 per day) (here),
• 95 transplants are done (here), and
• 22 people die running out of time waiting on a match (here).

Those numbers amount to a net increase of 43 (160-95-22) added to the waiting list each day. The list just keeps growing even though surveys show that 95% of Americans support organ donation. The problem is that only about 60% of Americans are actually registered organ and tissue donors (here). Instead of being part of the solution, the 40% of Americans who are NOT registered are why 22 Americans needlessly die waiting for an organ every day.

TWENTY-TWO!!!

Courtesy : Donate Life America

Question #3 - are you registered as an organ and tissue donor? 

Some of you just answered "no" to #3, but also said, "Yes, I believe Black Lives Matter / All Lives Matter." Since 60% of the need for life-saving organ transplants is within minority communities, are those really truthful answers? Think about it - how can "lives matter" to you when you're not registered as a donor?

The honest truth is that if you're one of those people, then you do not mean what you say. If you did, you'd already be registered as a donor. Actions speak louder than words.

You can be part of the solution, though, instead of part of the problem. Just click on the "Donate Life" logo within this post. You'll be taken to a page where you can register in about 2 minutes. Then, one day you may save as many as 8 lives. Be sure to tell your family of your decision. Get them to register, too, if they have not.

Most of us want to make a positive impact in our community and our country. Organ and tissue donation is one way that we can all do just that.  

Minnesota Man Gets Second Chance to Watch His Kids Grow Up

Read More: www.kimt.com Article Titled "Revived Man Receives Heart Transplant, Second Chance at Life"

Heart Month Music Monday

February is designated as Heart Month each year. It is also the month I received my heart transplant of which I celebrated the 12th anniversary of last week. So, it is a special month for me.

Back in 2012, I posted a Music Monday series featuring Heart and a number of their most popular tunes. It was also in 2012 that Heart gave a special performance of "Stairway to Heaven" at the Kennedy Center Honors for Led Zeppelin. In my opinion, it was an unforgettable, legendary performance of one of rock 'n roll's iconic tunes by one of my favorite bands. It will be hard for anyone to ever top it.

I read somewhere after Heart's performance that usually the members of Led Zeppelin do not like it when their music is performed by other bands. However, in this case, they really enjoyed it. I think that is evident in the video.

If you have not scene it, today's your chance. It is embedded below or can be viewed by clicking here. Enjoy. I sure did.
 
Heart "Stairway to Heaven" (Live) from Hamilton Post Production on Vimeo.

Kansas Law Would Prevent Discrimination Against Living Donors

The Kansas legislature is currently considering a bill that would ban any type of insurance industry discrimination against living donors. Simply put, it would prevent insurance companies from charging living donors higher premiums on life, health, disability, or long-term care policies.

The legislation would also prevent insurance companies from denying living donors coverage or canceling their policy just for being a living donor. Studies have shown that approximately 1/4 of living donors endure such discrimination, and, in my opinion, it's just as wrong as discrimination based upon race, national origin, etc. 

When someone decides to give of themselves in order to save the life of another, they should be encouraged for doing so instead of receiving a form of punishment by way of financial hardship from the insurance industry. I doubt that Kansas is the only state where this law is needed. 

Therefore, I'm calling on Congress and President Trump to put an end to such discrimination once and for all by passing a federal law banning discrimination against the heroes in this country who have chosen to give the gift of life through living donation. Washington is in the news all the time with Trump and Congress arguing and bickering over things that aren't a matter of life and death while this discrimination and the needless dying of Americans on the waiting list for life-saving organ transplants continues.

In fact, Sue Herndon, who in 2009 donated a kidney to a friend, stated it best when she testified that, "Everything we do to help encourage living donation saves lives." She is 100% correct. 

Read More: cjonline.com article titled "Kidney Donor Asks Kansas Legislators to Block Insurance Discrimination"

A Holiday Gift of Life

Marilyn Walto of Dalton, MA suffered from an autoimmune disease known as Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) since the 1980s. PBC is a progressive, chronic disease which destroys the liver's bile ducts. It can cause swelling in the feet and legs, abdominal pain, and other issues.

By Nephron - Wikipedia

Back in the summer, Marilyn's health suddenly deteriorated necessitating a life-saving liver transplant. After her daughter posted on Facebook about her mom's need, scores of willing people, including family members and friends, came forward offering to be a living donor. Unfortunately, none of them were able to do so, either due to pre-existing health conditions or simply because they were not a match.

Then, on Thanksgiving Eve, Marilyn received the call that a liver match was available. She received a transplant and is now doing great. In fact, she just celebrated her 68th birthday.

Marilyn's story tells of how organ donation provides people with hope and the opportunity to reach milestones they never would have otherwise. It saves lives, including mine nearly 12 years ago. 

If you have not registered as an organ and tissue donor, please do so as about 20 Americans will die today waiting due to a lack of registered donors. To register in the state where you live, please visit the Donate Life America website by clicking here. 

Read More: www.BershireEagle.com article titled "With Her Family, A Mom Celebrates A Birthday She Never Thought She'd See"

Think Twice In 2019

One day last week, when I had SiriusXM playing in my truck, I heard today's Music Monday song for the first time in several years. It got me to thinking - thinking about how we Americans treat each other. There's way too much arguing, and yelling and screaming over politics, sports, how our food is or is not prepared when we go out to eat, over how poorly someone else drives, and so many other things that, as my mom used to say, "don't amount to a hill of beans".  It also led to me wondering, "what if we tried doing things differently in 2019?"

Today's Music Monday is Phil Collins' "Another Day In Paradise" from his 1989 album ... But Seriously? Interestingly, both the song and the album went to #1. 

The song is about the plight of the homeless, but as I listened to it the other day, the lyrics got me to thinking about it's application to other hardships. For instance:

The woman who is a victim of domestic violence.
Just another day in paradise.
The man who's just been diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer.
Just another day in paradise. 
The soldier's wife whose husband just left for a year-long deployment.
Just another day in paradise.
The woman whose husband of 50 years just passed away.
Just another day in paradise.
The man who's been outta work for 6 months and is in danger of losing his home and being unable to feed his family.
Just another day in paradise.
The lonely teenager who needs a friend.
Just another day in paradise.
The one who's in the hospital running out of time waiting on a life-saving organ transplant.
Just another day in paradise.

I could go on and on with this, because nearly every one is struggling with something. So, let's put aside all the anger, selfishness, and hostility and try helping someone(s) in 2019, because what we've been doing simply ain't working. What would daily life in the U.S. look like if we did?

2019 and our chance to "think twice" and do something different that makes a difference begins tomorrow. We hear talk about "change" all the time. For once, let's make a change that actually does some good. Shall we?

The music video is embedded below or can be watched by clicking here. 

 

Happy New Year everyone!!

Wrong for the Job

I thought long and hard about whether or not to write this post. I've been hesitant to do so, because, like most of us, I'm sick of the political garbage. However, as an advocate for organ and tissue donation, my great state is in danger of electing a U.S. Senator who is totally the wrong person for the job, particularly for Tennesseans who are transplant recipients or donor family members.

Courtesy : Wikipedia

The mere thought of Phil Bredesen as U.S Senator from Tennessee makes me ill. I don't care for him at all. I endured 8 years of him as Nashville, TN mayor plus 8 years of him as Tennessee Governor. In fact, his time as mayor is one of the reasons we moved out of Davidson County in 2005, because I got tired of my property taxes going up. I could list many more reasons as to why I don't like Bredesen, but there is one that trumps them all, and it has nothing to do with politics.

While he was governor, the Tennessee Governor's Highway Safety Office (GHSO), ran a series of anti-drunk driving PSAs. Sounds great, right? No one wants intoxicated drivers on the roads. Honestly, the PSAs were good, until one titled "Harvest" aired.

It starts off talking about an emergency surgery. Then, Bredesen points to an open operating room and explains that a "harvest" (organs being recovered for transplant) is taking place in there due to a young girl being killed by a drunk driver. First of all, he should have used the proper terminology. We use the term "recovery" now. However, that mistake was the least of the problems with the PSA.

When I saw the PSA for the first time, I was initially in shock that a governor would be so insensitive. Next, I got angry. Why? Because to me the underlying theme of the ad is not that drunk driving is bad and people shouldn't do it - it's that drunk driving causes people to become organ donors and that organ donation is the penalty for drunk driving. He connected a life-saving positive with a senseless, tragic, no-regard-for-human life negative. Organ donation and drunk driving should NEVER be connected to each other in such a way and doing so was cold and heartless.

A Transplant Record

Back in April, a new Guinness World Record was achieved. On that day, in Chicago, IL, a group of living donors gathered for a "Living Donor Rally" at "The Bean" Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park. With enormous media coverage on hand, the 410 living donors who gathered, set the world record for the largest gathering of living donors ever.

Cloud Gate - Credit: Wikipedia

The event's purpose was two-fold. First, according to event co-organizer Laurie Lee, a living kidney donor, the group wanted "... to share the important news about how people can save lives through organ donation - and they can do it without dying first. So many still have no idea that they can go beyond donating organs upon their death. Raising awareness saves lives and making this kind of impact is rewarding."

Second, the event raised over $32,000 for a Northwestern Medicine living donor fund. These monies will be used to help living donors defray any living donation expenses that health insurance does not cover.

Kudos to all who put in the time and effort to make this worthwhile event happen. For more information about living organ donation, please visit Donate Life America's website by clicking here. 

Read More: Patch.com article titled "Local Woman at Heart of Guinness Record for Organ Donor Gathering"

Teachers Do Amazing Things

Reynoldsburg, OH city hall (credit: Wikipedia)

We often hear stories of teachers doing truly amazing things with, and for, their students. Heck, if I had a dollar for every time I've heard one of my friends in the education profession refer to their students as their "kids", The Sheepdog would be, to borrow a line from the boys in the band Warrant, "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich". 

10-year-old Eva suffers from a rare disease known as collapsing FSGS. Due to the devastating effects of the disease, Eva needed a kidney transplant. Guess who stepped up to be her living donor "hero"? Yep, you guessed it - a 4th grade teacher, Tanya Thomas, at Eva's school.

The entire story can be watched in the video embedded below, or it can be watched or the entire story, "Reynoldsburg Teacher to Donate Kidney to Student", read on nbc4i.com here. The heartwarming story is more evidence of how much teachers love students and how organ donation saves lives. For information on organ donation, including how to register in the state where you live, please visit the Donate Life America website by clicking here.



P.S. Don't forget - The Sheepdog has a new Facebook page. You're invited to visit it and "Like" it here.

Liver Transplant Gives 8-Year-Old Girl Second Chance

Willow Clayton, 8, from Indiana recently received a life-saving liver transplant after being born with Biliary Artesia. It's a disease that prevents the body from riding itself of toxins, and it threatened to end her young life.

Willow's only hope was a liver transplant, and her story is more evidence of how well the miracle of organ transplantation works. The news video of her amazing story is embedded below, or can be watched by clicking here.

Or, you can read the full article ("8-Year-Old's Life Changed Forever After Organ Donation") on wishtv.com by clicking here.

For more information on organ and tissue donation, including how you can register as a donor in the state where you live, please click on the Donate Life America logo within this post.



Also, as a reminder, The Second Chance Sheepdog is now on Facebook here.

Just Call Me ...

... Brett Favre.

The Sheepdog is "un-retiring".

English: Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre during on-field warmups at Ralph B. Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills on November 5, 2006. Français : Brett Favre, quarterback des Green Bay Packers, avant un jeu contre le Buffalo Bills. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Much like the great Hall of Fame and Super Bowl winning quarterback, when I signed off for what I thought would be the last time back in December, I had no intention of ending up "back in the game'. I honestly did not. However, here I am to announce that The Sheepdog is back. He's open for business.

There is one main reason I am doing so. When I received my heart transplant in 2007, I knew instantly when waking up from surgery that my life had changed. I could literally feel life pulsing through my body for the first time in a long time. Laying in ICU praying a few days later, the Lord very strongly impressed upon me to tell everyone what He had done for me. I felt it was not only imperative for me to do so in order to be obedient to Him, but also as a way of helping others receive the same "2nd chance" I had just been given.

Over the last month, or so, I've come to realize that this blog is one of the best ways for me to do just that. Advocating for organ and tissue donation is my calling. You don't just "retire" from a calling - especially not when the Creator of the universe is the one who called you.

Also, to make following The Sheepdog blog more convenient, it now has a Facebook page. To locate and "Like" the page, just click here, or on the Facebook logo at the top of the right sidebar.  If some of the previous Blogger issues continue, it may be that one day, I completely move the blog's activities to Facebook.

Posts will start soon. I'll see ya on the web.

The Last Growl

I started this blog over 8 years ago. Frequent readers may have noticed the number of posts has decreased during the last few years. I’ve been pondering the blog’s future for awhile, and after 719 posts, including this one, and over 240,000 page views, I’ve decided it’s time to close up shop, sign off one last time, and retire from the blogosphere.

It’s not because this heart transplant recipient’s health is failing. On the contrary - I’m approaching the 11^th anniversary of my transplant and am still doing great. God continues to bless me tremendously.

The decision boils down to one thing – The Sheepdog is weary, and he’s weary for a number of reasons.

First, Google’s Blogger platform has become unreliable. More and more frequently, something doesn’t work correctly, some font has changed, a sidebar tool has been discontinued, a plug-in has failed, or some other aggravating issue has arisen whenever I log in to write. For example. when I wrote this post, the Zemanta plug-in I've used for years had stopped working .... again. I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised, because Blogger is free. Therefore, Google has no incentive to keep it functioning at a high level. It’s the ol’ “you get what you pay for”.

Second, I’m not feeling the motivation to write the blog anymore, which is fueled somewhat by the Blogger issues mentioned above. I could switch to another platform, such as Wordpress, but I’m just not willing to build the site again, nor pay for the service. Sometimes over the last few years, I actually had to force myself to write just to keep the blog active. I’ve had enough of that, too. I’ve read a few articles and studies which have shown that blog readership is declining. Some of that is due to the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. People just aren’t as interested in reading blogs anymore. Based upon my pageviews declining and no comments on posts, it appears these studies are correct.

Delaware Outlaws Discrimination In Organ Transplantation

Recently, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law a bill banning discrimination in organ transplantation based upon a person's disability. Thanks to Gov. Carney and the Delaware legislature, the state is now the 6th in the U.S. to outlaw such practices.

English: A collection of pictograms. Three of them used by the United States National Park Service. A package containing those three and all NPS symbols is available at the Open Icon Library (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know from experience that there are a number of criteria by which a patient is evaluated in order to determine if a person is a suitable organ transplant candidate. This bill specifically prohibits a person's disability from being the reason they are denied transplant services and / or considered for transplant.

Rep. Debra Heffernan, the legislation's sponsor, said, "With this bill in place, families will have peace of mind and know that their loved one with a disability has the right to be treated fairly when they are undergoing the extremely taxing process of pursuing a life-saving transplant."

Governor Carney added, "A true measure of the commitment of government to the people is how well it addresses the needs of those who are living with disabilities. By signing this legislation into law, we are taking action to ensure individuals with disabilities have access to organ transplant procedures."

I agree with both of them wholeheartedly, and I implore Congress and President Trump to keep this non-discrimination theme in mind as they continue to work on the repeal and replace of ObamaCare.  The pre-existing conditions protection MUST be kept in place in whatever piece of legislation they ultimately agree on. Any discrimination to healthcare access is immoral and must be banned, because it ultimately leads to lives being needlessly lost.

I have 1 question in regards to Delaware's new legislation. Why do ONLY 6 states have such a law in place? Shame on the other 44 of you. Every state should have such a law on the books. I call upon the governors and legislators in the 44 states who have no such law to get to work and get it done.

Read More: DelawarePublic.org article - "Gov. Carney Signs Bill Banning Organ Transplant Discrimination" 

Transplant Recipient Realizes Her Dream

In 2011, Arlinda Griffin had been on the transplant waiting list for nearly 3 years. Due to severe diabetes, she was nearly blind and desperately needed a kidney and pancreas transplant. When Eric Smith tragically lost his life in an automobile accident on June 12, 2011, he became a hero to Arlinda, because he was an organ and tissue donor who saved her life and the lives of several others. Eric also helped many through tissue donation.

English: Citizens Bank Park view from Pavilion Deck (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After Arlinda received her transplant, she became friends with Eric's mom, Mary Smith. As their friendship grew, Arlinda confided in her that she had a lifelong dream of singing the national anthem at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. Once learning of Arlinda's dream, Mary went to work to make it happen.

On July 29th, during the Phillies' annual Gift of Life organ donation awareness night, Arlinda accomplished the dream, the goal, she had kept to herself since her childhood. After escorting Arlinda onto the field for the national anthem, Mary was in tears as Arlinda became the first organ transplant recipient to sing the national anthem at Citizens Bank Park saying, "I'm hoping that people attending the game will appreciate the value of being an organ donor."

There are approximately 117, 000 Americans currently on the transplant waiting list. One is added about every 10 minutes. Today, around 20 Americans will run out of time waiting and die leaving behind spouses, children, fiancees, parents, siblings, and friends. To break the numbers down a little further, 1 American dies about every hour to hour and a half. In my opinion, that's inexcusable when the solution to ending this needless dying is as simple as all Americans voluntarily registering as organ and tissue donors.

To learn how to register as a donor, please visit Donate Life America's website by clicking here.

It won't take but about 2 minutes of your time, so to borrow a phrase from Nike, "Just Do It!"

Read More: - see article on www.philly.com titled "Singing the Gift of Life At the Phillies Game"

Related articles:

• Hero Found: Kidney Transplant Set After Grandfather's Old-School Plea (chicago.cbslocal.com)

Rule #3

https://www.DonateLife.net/

Rule #3 -

Everyone should be registered as an organ and tissue donor.
NO excuses.

Basketball and Transplants

April is organ donation awareness month. With approximately 120,000 Americans currently awaiting a life-saving organ transplant and about 20 of them dying every day waiting, it is good that a former NBA player was recently honored for giving the gift of life to many through organ and tissue donation.

West's silhouette serves as the current NBA logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jerome Kersey's life was cut short in 2015 by a blood clot that traveled from his leg to his lung. He was recently honored by Donate Life Northwest at a Portland Trailblazers basketball game. The 17-year NBA vet was a hero in death saving the lives of several, including several children, and giving sight to 4 people through cornea donation.

Kersey's gifts not only helped many people but also give a sense of comfort and peace to his daughter, Kiara, who misses him dearly. "What it means to me personally is my dad's legacy hasn't died and that he's still paying it forward," she said. For the ones Kersey helped, he will always be remembered as a hero.

You can be a hero, too, by registering as an organ and tissue donor. For more information about organ and tissue donation, including how to register in the state where you live, please visit Donate Life America's website by clicking here.

Read more: attn.com article - "How One Late NBA Players Simple Choice Is Saving Lives"

Related articles

• Jerome Kersey continues to give with organ donations (koin.com)

Baseball and Transplants

With the 2017 Major League Baseball Season opener just around the corner, I figured today was a great time to share some good news about Hall of Famer Rod Carew. I remember watching him play for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels (now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) back when I was a boy. He more than earned his place in the hall of fame.

English: Rod Carew, Panamanian former Mayor League Player and Baseball hall of fame member. Photo by Tito Herrera/www.titoherrera.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carew, 71, suffered a heart attack back in September 2015, which led to him having to have blood clots removed and a LVAD (left ventricular assist device) implanted to aid the pumping function of his heart after the damage from the heart attack. However, thanks to his new, healthy heart, the LVAD is no longer needed.

After spending 7 weeks away from home for the transplant surgery and subsequent recovery, Carew is doing great. In fact, he's feeling so good that he wanted to attend spring training in Florida. However, it was not possible as a person is not allowed to fly for at least 3 months after transplant.

Interestingly, Carew's new heart came from a 29-year-old donor, and Carew's jersey number was - 29. Coincidence? I think not. I think the Good Lord had a plan for Rod Carew, just as He did for me, and does for you, too.

Welcome to The Transplant Family, Mr. Carew! I wish you the best in your new life. I surely enjoyed watching you play baseball as a boy. Play ball!!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Read more: USAToday.com article titled ""Hall of Famer Rod Carew Returns Home After Heart, Kidney Transplant Surgery"

Music and a Milestone

On February 20, 2007, two Tennessee men were desperate, suffering, fighting for their lives, and needing a miracle - a miracle in the form of a life-saving organ transplant. One needed a liver, and the other a heart. One would lose his battle, but in the process, he would save the life of the other. Medical records will show that the one man died that night, but I will assert that, in a way, he did not - he lives on through the gift of his heart to me.

Kent, my donor

Today makes 10 years since I received the call that a heart was available for transplant for me. Tomorrow will be the actual 10 year anniversary of my transplant. The last 10 years have rushed by fast. I am thankful for each day. Those days would not have been possible without my heart donor, Kent. I do not take a day for granted. Without him, my wife and I would not have celebrated our 20th anniversary. We would not have been to Hawaii together. I wouldn't have shot my 1st, or 2nd, trophy buck. I wouldn't have ever harvested my 1st turkey, or seen my nephews grow into teenagers. I am grateful for all of those memories and many others. None of them possible without Kent.

Today's a Music Monday, and I had a tough time coming up with a song for today. Then, I remembered one of Skillet's more recent releases - "Not Gonna Die". The song was released on the band's 2013 record titled Rise. From what I understand, the song is actually about not letting sin overtake and consume you. However, to me today it has another meaning.

The video and the lyrics are a little dark, but when I think about what both Kent and I were going through 10 years ago today, the struggle, the emotions, the feeling of helplessness - they are the perfect artistic rendering of what we were experiencing.

Neither of us wanted to die that night - and, in a way, neither of us did. We're walking this earth together. Kent also saved others that night 10 years ago by donating other organs. He improved the lives of many others, too, through tissue donation. He left a legacy of life and giving to others. So, he lives on not just in me, but in many others, too. He is a hero to many of us and our families.

Thanks again, Kent.

The video is embedded below or can be watched by clicking here.



If you are not presently registered as an organ and tissue donor, you can learn more, and even learn how to register in the state where you live, by clicking here.

Football and Transplants

I'm a BIG football fan, and a heart transplant recipient. There's not much I'd rather talk about than my favorite sport and the blessing of new, extended, healthy life that the Lord bestowed up on me. So, when I run across an article that mixes both football AND the story of someone else who received the same 2nd second chance at life that I did, I'm all over it.

Sam Wyche (photo credit)

Y'all remember former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Sam Wyche? Coach Wyche was at the helm when the Bengals played in the their only Super Bowl - Super Bowl 23 back in January 1989. Little did he know it at the time, but trying to win the Super Bowl would not be the toughest battle he would face.

According to a recent article, Coach Wyche was in heart failure just a few months ago and very close to dying before receiving a life-saving heart transplant. Now, he is out telling his story and encouraging others to register as organ and tissue donors. Due to his former position as an NFL coach, Wyche has the potential to be a great advocate for organ and tissue donation. One that folks will listen to.

I wish Wyche the best as he begins his post-transplant journey. If you'd like more information on organ and tissue donation, including how to register, then please click here to visit Donate Life America's website.

See article - "Former NFL Coach Discusses Organ Donation at Pittsburgh Center" on pittsburgh.cbslocal.com