Every day we see signs, we hear of things, we know people around us are in need. It becomes a part of the scenery after a while. I drive by blood donation signs every single day, I know what they are, I know what they're asking for but it doesn't ever hit home. I've always been a little low in iron and I don't think they really want my blood so I see it and don't take much notice.
November kind of changed that for me, my sister was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and suddenly blood donation became very real, very tangible. Right beside that came stem-cell donation, we've all heard of it in the terms of "bone marrow transplant", but I've come to realize just how little we as a society know about it.
I look up things all the time, Google is my best friend I always say... I see a word I don't know, a company I've never heard of, I'm looking for a tool or a service... I go straight to Google. Why do we see a need and not look it up to find out what it's about and if it will even cost us to help? People are instinctively egocentric, some more than others... we have to continually train ourselves to reach out to others and then to balance how much we give and how much we keep so that we can continue to be happy and healthy.
I've learned a lot in the past year following the untimely passing of my young nephew and now the diagnosis of his mother (my sister). I never knew what it was like to lose except for the elderly who were ready to go. Now that I sit on the other side and know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of an endless amount of people who don't know what to say, I have gained a new perspective. I do not judge though, because I used to be one of those people and I can say I know how it feels.
So here I am, charting a new path, stepping out of my boundaries not only to save my sister's life, but hopefully to save the lives of many others who are in the same boat. Why? Because I'm in a position where I have to rely on a total stranger to save my sister's life, because I now know how it feels, because I've learned what it means to "pay it forward" or "backward" however you want to look at it, and I'm not losing my sister... not without a fight!
www.taniasstemcelldonordrive.ca
www.onematch.ca
www.blood.ca
Check it out...
November kind of changed that for me, my sister was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and suddenly blood donation became very real, very tangible. Right beside that came stem-cell donation, we've all heard of it in the terms of "bone marrow transplant", but I've come to realize just how little we as a society know about it.
I look up things all the time, Google is my best friend I always say... I see a word I don't know, a company I've never heard of, I'm looking for a tool or a service... I go straight to Google. Why do we see a need and not look it up to find out what it's about and if it will even cost us to help? People are instinctively egocentric, some more than others... we have to continually train ourselves to reach out to others and then to balance how much we give and how much we keep so that we can continue to be happy and healthy.
I've learned a lot in the past year following the untimely passing of my young nephew and now the diagnosis of his mother (my sister). I never knew what it was like to lose except for the elderly who were ready to go. Now that I sit on the other side and know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of an endless amount of people who don't know what to say, I have gained a new perspective. I do not judge though, because I used to be one of those people and I can say I know how it feels.
So here I am, charting a new path, stepping out of my boundaries not only to save my sister's life, but hopefully to save the lives of many others who are in the same boat. Why? Because I'm in a position where I have to rely on a total stranger to save my sister's life, because I now know how it feels, because I've learned what it means to "pay it forward" or "backward" however you want to look at it, and I'm not losing my sister... not without a fight!
www.taniasstemcelldonordrive.ca
www.onematch.ca
www.blood.ca
Check it out...
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