Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Match author Susan Whitman Helfgot – AOPO Excerpts Part 2
Excerpt from prepared remarks by Susan Whitman Helfgot at the 2010 National Association of Organ Procurement Organizations recently held in Baltimore, Maryland.
... My husband, Joseph was colorful and brilliant, possessed of a keen wit and was ruthlessly loyal to his friends and his family. He had fought so hard to live, for so long, that his death was almost a surprise to our family and to his caregivers. Being here with you today reminds me of that enormous loss. But look at what been gained. When Drs. Dubernard and Devauchelle performed the first face transplant in Amiens, France five years ago, it electrified the world. And, as we know, this achievement, although a medical success, was greeted with great skepticism and even, ridicule. We have traveled far from that day with several face transplants performed worldwide.
AOPO's Mission
AOPO represents and serves Organ Procurement Organizations through advocacy, support, and development of activities that will maximize the availability of organs and tissues and enhance the quality, effectiveness, and integrity of the donation process.
As of July 30, 2010, 107,913 people are on the waiting list to receive the Gift of Life.
By: Susan Whitman Helfgot, Author of The Match available in bookstores & online October 12
Monday, August 16, 2010
Bowled over by Helfgot Boys, Ben and Jacob.
Jim Maki and I sat on a stone wall in the back of Brigham and Women's Hospital yesterday. A newswoman was interviewing us about ABC's upcoming Boston Med show this Thursday night. She asked how we felt about the show. Bittersweet came to my mind as one of its main characters isn't here to enjoy all the limelight -- and anyone who knew Joseph knew how much he loved the limelight! But happy, too. The show is great, Jim is doing great, and my family vacation looms in 3 days! And my son actually put his folded clothes in his drawer... I was "bowled over".
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thank you all
I've received so many notes today from those of you who saw last night's final episode of Boston Med. Thanks for your love and support. A young woman wrote to me with the following. It captures everything.
I have a mission to find you to tell you what I think. Thank you for what you did, I'm still crying. You and your husband are the most unselfish persons and such words cannot describe what I feel about what you did to help out another human.
A warm tear roll down my face
a warm face that can be touched
a face that can be felt
a life that will live on
Such a soul that will live on.
To you, your family, thank you, thank you for making a gift of giving.
I'm am sorry for your loss. I will make give the gift of life, donating my blood to Kaiser in your name. That is something that I can do.
I thank you, bless you and your family. You know that he will live on helping another family. The ultimate gift of love.
Thank you, thank you....
Soraya Nakamura
Thank you Soraya!
Sue
"The Match moves, shakes and clings" as quoted by Hsiu-Lan Chang.
I begged Susan Whitman Helfgot for the advance copy of The Match and promised to return it to her in 2 days. The reverence I developed for the story made it hard to let the book go. The narrative is fast-paced and packed with facts, tid-bits and anecdotes, but every few chapters or so, I needed to stop reading and cradle the book with respect, mull the extraordinary progression of events and contemplate the courage of the characters with awe and affection. It could have been tempting but Susan never resorts to sentimentality. Her armor is pragmatism, humor, strength and an absolute conviction in what her husband and life partner believed in and wanted. What Joseph, Susan and their family went through is beyond my imagination. The gift of Joseph's face gives James Maki the hope of a normal life. In turn, through The Match, Susan offers a powerful new life to Joseph. You won't be able to "shake off" the clinging effect of The Match. It proposes to us that our FINAL moment can also become our most brilliant.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
We are miracles, made from stardust - Thoughts on Life, Perseid Meteor Shower & Boston Med Finale
Those of you who know me well, know that I am a sucker for things that twinkle in the sky. I am still awed, even after years of studying science, when I pause to consider that my bones, spun into being by chemically rich RNA, are made from calcium and other elements created during supernova explosions that occurred many hundreds of millions of years ago. Somehow, these chemicals magically found their way here, to our tiny planet and into our complex biological bodies carrying forth the torch of creation. We are miracles -- made from stardust.
It is fitting that, as the final episode of Boston Med airs tonight, the Perseid Meteor Shower of 2010 will perform overhead. As we pass through Swift-Tuttle's shattered comet tail, stardust rich meteors will rain down upon us. Tonight, as a historic face transplant unfolds on television, the sky will deliver its bounty outside, unaware of our small medical triumph. I encourage you to watch both of these amazing shows.
Final Episode of Boston Med. Tonight on ABC. 10 p.m. EST.
Perseid Meteor Shower. Tonight on Planet Earth. Northern Hemisphere. Any darkened sky channel near you.
"May you live in interesting times."
Chinese Proverb.
Susan Whitman Helfgot
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