I heard this story about a young kid who was on the beach, the tide had come in and was going back out. As the water began to receed, there were thousands and thousands of starfish stranded on the beach. An old man watched from a beach chair as the younger man frantically ran up the shoreline, picking them up - one at a time - and throwing them back into the ocean. Finally, being older and wiser, understanding what the young man apparently did not... the old man approached him. "What are you doing?"
The young man replied as he continued to scurry along the beach, "I'm saving the starfish!"
The old man chuckled as he quipped, "You're never going to be able to save them all... you can never possibly make a difference!"
The young man paused momentarily with a starfish in his hand... He smiled at the old man, then hurled it back into the ocean, and simply replied... "I made a difference to that one..."
Nobody can change the world in an instant. Lives are changed and the world becomes a better place, one great act at a time. No doubt, everybody has "saved a starfish"at some point in their life... mine just happened to need a kidney.
Sometimes it's difficult for me to respond to compliments about this experience in my life because of all that I have been blessed with since that time. I have been given the opportunity to channel my passion for organ donation through my professional ambitions... to share Kay's story, Jody's story, and put faces to the numbers of the ever-growing transplant list. My life has truly been rewarded for, what now seems to be a relatively insignificant sacrifice in the greater scheme of things. Jody's life has changed... but quite certainly - so has mine.
This experience has taught me that the best solution to any disappointment in life, is service. When times get tough... find someone who's got it "tougher" and serve. Inevitably... you're life will improve. It could be because your perspective changes and you're challenges don't look quite so challenging... but whatever the reason - Christlike service and self-sacrifice is the greatest antidote to adversity. At that time in my life... I needed this experience, every bit as much as Jody and I was every bit as thankful for it...
The Blackburn's story as told by Johnnie Blackburn...
"Jody entered the hospital in 2001 to undergo some routine heart tests. On that day, a discovery was made that would try and test our lives in the years that followed … Jody’s kidneys were failing, he was diagnosed with end stage renal disease, and was told that he was lucky to have made it to the hospital alive. From that moment, I knew God was in control of the journey we were about to embark upon. We were grateful that Jody was still with us but we were also about to discover that our lives would never be the same. I had always been taught not to ask God for an easy life, but always pray to be a stronger person. Boy, were we going to depend on that prayer for the next several years! We trudged along okay for a couple of years, but made no progress in finding a donor. We weren’t even on the transplant list until a new doctor helped Jody make it to UAB for evaluation and - even then - things weren’t looking up for us… but, God was looking down and he was watching over a beautiful, spunky red-headed nurse named Christina Bryant as she was embarking on a wonderful campaign to raise awareness about a special kidney donation program she wanted to see to fruition. More time passed before a TV newscast on a Sunday night in February of 2006, led me to the person that God had chosen to be Jody’s donor. A great UAB transplant team assembled to make our dream of a new life a reality. It took a lot of work to make this altruistic kidney transplant happen. At last… the plan was in place… almost. Our faith was tested, yet again, through some other setbacks due to Jody’s health and a small medicine error on the morning of the greatly anticipated surgery. The surgery was cancelled and rescheduled for another day. That day finally came on January 15, 2007 as a beautiful and successful kidney transplant gave my husband the chance to live a normal, productive life and our dear friend the opportunity to fulfill her heart’s desire to honor the life of her loved one. We thank God for our donor and all the medical staff that made our miracle happen. But, best of all – we all get to tell the world that we actually lived out and witnessed a true miracle from God – right here and now in the 21st Century. Glory to God! He is in control! And…as always… Share Life!!!"
