Most people likely do not think of organ donation much past the little box one checks on a driver’s license. Although it is a decision many don’t put much thought into, it ultimately can mean the difference between life and death. According to the national organ donation website, 18 people die each day waiting for an organ. That means that by the time you are done reading this, someone has likely died on the transplant list. There are currently 122,502 people waiting for an organ. Although that number is sobering, there are also thousands of people living today because someone gave them the gift of an organ. Three of those recipients live right here in the Red River Valley. In July, they will travel to Houston, Texas to take place in the Transplant Games of America. Their story is a celebration of the human spirit and the remarkable transformative power of organ donation.
“From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health.” ~Catalan Proverb
Timmy Winter’s life was saved thanks to a kidney she received seventeen years ago at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Tammy was diagnosed with kidney disease when she was just nineteen years old. She lingered on the transplant list for over 2 1/2 years before receiving her miracle. Now, Tammy is active in the community and dedicated to improving donor awareness throughout the area. She lives with her husband Scott and two daughters, Katelin (14) and Bella (4). Both of her children were born after a transplant, another example of the remarkable power of organ donation. Tammy takes nothing for granted. “I am very lucky I’ve been as healthy as I have been,” she said.
Tammy is excited to compete in the 2014 Transplant Games in Texas. Of the three women profiled, she is the only one with past experience, having participated in the 2004 games when it was held in Minnesota. She received a gold medal in bowling and a silver medal in golf ten years ago; and is eager to add to her medal collection in July, when she will compete in bowling, team volleyball, and a 5K walk. “It’s such an amazing and fun opportunity,” she said. Tammy is especially excited to be competing with two other area women whose lives have also been saved thanks to organ donation. Neither Sue Skedsvold nor Cherie Finneman has competed in the games before, but they are both looking forward to the opportunity, and grateful for the chance to represent Team MD-DAK.
Sue was sick for ten years before being diagnosed in 2005 with liver disease. She was initially forced to suffer through misdiagnoses and less than helpful physicians before finally getting evaluated for a transplant at the University of Minnesota. Like Tammy, Sue lingered on the waiting list for over two years, eventually losing her job as well as her mobility due to encephalopathy caused by the liver disease. “I was completely shut in,” she said. Although Sue was on the organ donation waiting list, she was nowhere near the top when she received an unlikely phone call. Her 2nd cousin Donald had suffered a stroke in California and was the perfect blood type for a transplant. “Although he was not registered (as a donor), his wife made the decision to give me his liver via direct gift,” she explained. In the process, Donald also donated his heart, lungs, and kidneys to other qualified recipients. Sue did not underappreciate the enormity of the gift. “It is an awfully big gift to accept,” she said. When doctors removed her diseased kidney, it was determined that she would have only lived another 1-2 months. “It is just by fate that I am even here,” she said.
Sue has become close to her donor family since the transplant. In fact, her donor’s wife will be at the Transplant Games, her visit sponsored by Team MN-DAK as part of a donor tribute event at the games. “It’s very special,” Sue said. “She made the decision that saved my life.” Although Donald wasn’t able to be at his son’s wedding, Sue was. “It was like Donald was there too,” she said. Sue will be competing in donor/recipient bowling, team volleyball, race walking, and the 5K at the games. “The games are very important to me,” she explained. “I worked so hard to move from being sedentary to becoming active again.”
Like Sue, Cherie Finneman will be competing in her first Transplant Games in July. Cherie received a heart and double lung transplant almost ten years ago at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. She is excited to attend her first games. “It will be a good way to celebrate ten years,” she said. Cherie will be competing in bowling, team volleyball, and the 5K. Participating in 5K races is nothing new to her as she as completed four in the last few years. One of those races was part of Fargo’s own marathon last weekend, where she participated with Sue. Both women would like to be role models for the transplant community. “I am hope,” Sue said.
All three women would like to continue to raise donor awareness in the community. Part of that awareness is simply encouraging conversations regarding organ donation. “It is really important your family knows your wishes,” Tammy explained. “It makes it that much easier for everyone.” Just checking off the little box on your driver’s license does not mean your family is cognizant of your desires regarding organ donation. Many people shy away from conversations about death and dying. By having that conversation, however, one can ensure that their families are not left with the agonizing decision. As in Sue’s case, it is often the next of kin that is forced to make a decision when in the midst of a tragedy. That anguish can be spared with a simple conversation.
Thousands of people all over the country are living today because of the gift of organ donation. Women like Tammy, Sue, and Cherie are walking testimonies to the power of donation and its ability to transform so many lives. Much like a spider web, the donation itself is just the initial act. The lives that are touched by the gift are exponential, like the rings of a web. For each organ donation, countless lives are touched. “Every day, my goal is to make a positive difference in one person’s life,” Sue explained, “either by thought, word, or deed.” That would not be possible without the gift she received.
Nobody likes to think about death. Many people are more comfortable simply pretending it doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, it is a very real possibility each and every day we walk out the front door of our house. Does that mean we need to live in fear? Not at all. It does mean, however, that we have a responsibility to ourselves, our loved ones, and those in need, to discuss the issue of organ donation. One organ donor can save up to eight lives. That is a very large spider web.
For more information about the Transplant Games or Team MN-DAK, visit www.transplantgamesofamerica.org or www.teammndak.wordpress.com. More information about organ donation can be found at www.organdonor.gov.
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Scott and Tammy Winter with daughters Bella and Katelin
