A SACRED EVENT

Good Afternoon and welcome to my little corner of the world, where in spite of the forecast of rain, the sun is shining and the sky is blue.   The air is clear and there are birds chirping in my garden.

Life is calm and peaceful and I have done things this week that I could never have done before when I was ill.   My time at the Royal Show working for Donate Life has made me very aware of many things.

I am aware of my health and the valued gift I received when I received the Gift of Life ~ all because another human being made the decision to be a Donor - I live because of my liver donor and am grateful every day.

I have met many other Human Beings in the last week and each one has a story to tell of a journey along a sometimes very rugged pathway.  I have met and spent time with a Donor Mum who is struggling with her grief and yet is proud and out there and actively campaigning for Organ Donation.

I have met other recipients and people who work with a passion to bring about the very best outcome with the wonderful medical skills available to us these days.  I have met Doctors, Surgeons, Intensive Care nurses - all of them "angels in comfortable shoes".  My life is blessed and much richer for these experiences and for meeting members of the public and telling the story of my journey.  

I have seen the picture from both sides - from the eyes of a Donor Mum and through my own eyes as a recipient and we both stand in wonder and awe at what can be and is being achieved.

I have met and become very close friends with another recipient who is aware daily of the gift he has received and who is living his life to the full in grateful awareness.  He is finding beauty and joy in the little things of life and not sweating the small stuff.

Each one of these encounters is indeed a "sacred event" as everyone has a different story to tell of a different journey and I rejoice that I can truly say that "The joy is in the journey" - that "life is a journey not a destination".

I am thankful for all those I have met and whose lives in some way have touched mine and who have been part of a "sacred event".

It was wonderful to share with people my story in the Donate Life "Book of Life" and to show that I am alive and well.

It is my hope and my prayer that I will be able to share my story with many more people and encourage those who wait for transplant and those in the early days post transplant  - that there is indeed "life after transplant" - for me a very peaceful and happy life ~ one I live with a thankful heart.

To those who read this Blog - thank you for taking the journey with me, for your love and care and support I am very grateful.

I wake each morning with a song in my heart, a spring in my step and a smile on my lips and gratitude for another day of life.    I am aware very much that I live on borrowed time - and I am making the most of it.

I am truly thankful for each "sacred event" in my life.

Love and hugs,

Linda.