How Do You Say Thank You?

By Alexandra Harrison, kidney recipient

How do you say thank you to someone you've never met, and never will? Thank you to someone you had absolutely no connection with -- yet, someone to whom you now owe your life. I must offer thanks to one who decided so selflessly to donate parts of himself after he was gone, so that a person like me could continue to pursue my passions and follow my dreams. What do you say to their family and friends? They lost a loved one. Whether it be a parent, child, aunt, uncle, best friend; someone loved was lost. And here I am, alive and well, all because someone decided to be an organ donor. The words "thank you" seem so small and so insignificant.

I was 27 years old when my life changed. On May 16, 2013 at 10:24am I got the call for which I had been waiting nearly nine years: The hospital had found me a kidney.

This was not just any kidney. It was a PERFECTLY-MATCHED kidney! I had received calls before from transplant centers saying they had a kidney for me and it had never worked out. I tried really hard not to get my hopes up this time, but it was difficult.

On May 18, 2013, I was prepped and ready to go into surgery, but still waiting on the final cross-match between the organ donor and me. Then the phone rang. I heard the doctor say "It's a go!" Most of what happened next is a blur, but I remember hugging my mom and the clock reading 8:11am. All I know for sure is that I did receive a kidney transplant! I later learned that the organ donor was a gentleman from a small town outside of Omaha, Nebraska. I don't know who he was or what kind of a person he was, but to me he is a real life hero. He is my Nebraska Hero.

Thanks to my Nebraska Hero, I get to navigate my life any way I please. I don't have to schedule activities around my dialysis treatments, or miss out on opportunities. I am young, so I still managed to take some college courses and work before my transplant, but it wasn't easy or enjoyable. Now, I get to be a full-time student with a long-term goal of working in the medical field, helping kids who also have kidney disease. I am able to be more involved than I ever could have imagined with the National Kidney Foundation, traveling to our nation's capital and advocating for all kidney patients — something that I never could have done before my transplant.

The fact that I can travel on an airplane with minimal planning is still mind-blowing. My kidney transplant has allowed me to enjoy simple things that others may not have even realized are a big deal, like going home to spend Christmas with my family, and for the first time in nine holiday seasons, actually getting to eat, drink, and be merry! Even the littlest things that most people take for granted like drinking a glass of water, eating chocolate and getting out of bed without having to talk myself into it first. Simply going to pee is a miracle. I know that seems crazy, but I still tear up when I have to go to the restroom. All of these activities are possible because of my Nebraska Hero.

How do you say thank you? You don't. You can't just say "thank you." Instead, you have to show your gratitude. I strive every day to live my life to its fullest and to take the best care possible of Nemo. I named my kidney Nemo, like the movie Finding Nemo, because it's my "lucky fin." By taking care of Nemo, I keep a part of my Nebraska Hero alive.

I honor him every time I take my meds, go to the doctors, and do everything I'm supposed to in order to keep my kidney healthy. I say thank you to his loved ones by sharing my story and making sure to mention that it would not have a happy ending if not for my Nebraska Hero and his selfless act of being an organ donor.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him and his family. It is terrible and heart-breaking to lose a loved one, but along with that terrible loss can come a wonderful gift. Not only do you save a life, but a portion of the life lost gets to live on.

If it wasn't for my organ donor and his family…I wouldn't have the need to figure out how to say thank you. For that, I am eternally thankful.