A Letter From a Transplant Recipient – First One

I received the following letter today from Mrs. Elena:

Dear Family, 

Thanks to the generous donation of your courageous loved one I can look forward to regaining vision in my left eye. I am 73 years old and due to error made during a cataract surgery in Africa, my cornea was damaged. My cornea got swollen after correction of the cataract lens placement and my vision was very bad. My husband has lost his vision due to glaucoma and therefore I could not stand the idea of me losing my sight as well. 

My doctor discussed about me needing a cornea transplant. Needless to say, I had my swollen cornea removed in November. While the surgery went perfectly, I am amazed at the compassion and benevolence exhibited by your family or love in having the forethought to consider organ donation. To think of saving and helping others in a time of deepest sorrow shows real courage and true selflessness. I thank you for it and I truly consider your gift the greatest I will ever receive.

I promise you I will live my life to the fullest and seek out new opportunities and great adventures. With my eyes I will see all there is to see. We may never meet, but I consider you a part of my family. From the bottom of my heart, my family and I thank you.

Mrs. Elena

There’s so much I want to say right now … and for starters, T-Mitch always rescues me in my dreams when I’m feeling the lowest. Last night was one of those moments. I felt more broken than ever (still do). Thanks to a dear friend, I was able to pull myself together and turned in early. I woke up remembering a few dreams and in one, I was with Torey and we were just chillin’ … he was all smiles and he let me know that Das and I are going to be okay. It made me smile.

Then … to open this letter and read the words from this dear sweet Lady – I felt his smile all around me yet again. I love you, Torey!

I also have to mention the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, John Altobelli, his wife Keri, their daughter Alyssa, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, and pilot Ara Zobayan. May they rest in peace – our condolences go out to all of their loved ones. Losing anyone so suddenly is never easy. Gone too soon…