Hurley Donation Forum

You know, the longer I wait to update this blog... the more things there are to write about. That can have a downside too. I mean now I don't know where to start or how much detail to get into. I guess that might be another reason why I should be doing this more often.


Ok lots going on... on the Gift of Life front. My brothers and I were asked to speak to the Hurley Hospital Forum on Donation. Of course Terry comes along with us... we can't do a talk without him there. Again, for you first time readers, Terry is the recipient of my brother Chase's heart.

The hospital works with the Gift of Life staff to go over procedures, policy and other details of transplantation inside of Hurley Hospital. They thought it would be beneficial to have us come in and speak to the members of this group. First off... I knew this one was going to be tough. Hurley is where Chase was brought after his accident and I am not really fond of the place to be honest. As I sat there and listened to the Gift of Life staff talk numbers... conversion rates, successful potential donors, and all kinds of other things... the more I realized... that without all the medical staff in that room... the medical staff that took care of my brother, maybe WE wouldn't be sitting there. There would be no transplant story. If WE weren't one of the "successful conversions". I began to get a little overwhelmed at the thought. Before I knew it...I was being introduced and welcomed in front of this group.

I was a little caught off guard and I knew that this talk would not follow the typical pattern as previous ones. I went through the story, but this time I could be specific... about the ER and the waiting room... about Nero ICU on the 5th floor and that damn waiting room in one corner and room 520 in the other corner. I could look into the eyes of each of those people and tell them what it was like that day to be here as a family member. They do a job, but I would like to think that for a minute I had them seeing things from our point of view. And from the looks on most of their faces...and the tears that were flowing. They saw.

This time my story ended different... it ended in a thank you. A thank you from my family to those people, departments and employees that do their job. It's because they do that... that I still have the forum to discuss and talk about Chase.

Afterwards...we were well received and had open discussions about getting us back and getting this message out to larger groups and other hospitals. I hope this happens... I feel like I am doing right by Chase after each one of these talks. I feel like we take every single opportunity to talk about him and the benefits of organ donation... even from the donor family side. During this small gathering... we were asked to visit the ER and Nero ICU. So the staff there could see a first hand the benefits...of course Terry is the most important piece to that.

We agreed to visit both areas, but I will be honest here. I had real apprehension about it. If Brandon and Trevor would not have been there. I would not have went. With them there... I feel its more than strength in numbers...its strange...but especially in that hospital.

We went to the ER... nothing to unusual there, until I see the waiting room. The same pictures on the wall and I can still see the state police officer standing there. This time, I was a bit uncomfortable...this was a little too close. We got behind the desk at the nurses station and the ER manager gathers the staff. And then asks me to say a few words about who we are and why we are there. To do that is tough... a quick intro doesn't do it justice. But I was ok with it. And we were on our way to the 5th floor.

I knew this was going to be WAY more difficult than the ER. This is where the majority of memories are. I think this was a tough walk for Terry too. Him and I have discussed the hospital and that day enough for him to know a lot of what we were feeling... and I think he was feeling. As we started down the hall... I saw the first and very vivid reminder of where we were. There is a set of double doors that blocks the regular 5th floor rooms from the Nero ICU. These were the very doors that we had to close behind us that night when Trevor, Brandon and myself left our little brother for the last time. Terry knew... we had talked about those doors before. Upon going through them, Chase's room was straight ahead. #520 All the rooms had patients in them...except that one. An empty bed... a reminder that Chase is gone. God the image of that bed has been in my head for 2 weeks. Again the manager asked the staff to gather round. Again I said a couple sentences about who we are and why we are there. Small things jumped out at me... the counter top. I remember looking at the counter top at the nurses station when I was approached by the Gift of Life rep. Liz Ayotte. That is where the first conversation took place... a conversation that changed the lives of a lot of people... directly and indirectly. And still changes lives today.

All I can say is... have a conversation. Talk about organ donation. Move people... one conversation can change this world. I believe that.