A woman gives the gift of life to a stranger

[okarol]

A woman gives the gift of life to a stranger
Posted:  10/06/2010 9:30 PM
 
By Diana Bell
San Diego Union-Tribune
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Four years ago, Cara Yesawich attended a gala organized by former pro football player John Brockington and his wife, Diane, to raise kidney transplant awareness. As fate had it, a young couple leaving the dinner got a call informing them a kidney had been found for their critically ill 5-year-old son. He had a transplant the next day.

“It sent chills up my spine,” Cara wrote in her blog. “From that point on I made it my mission to donate a kidney.”

Last April, she did just that. Cara, who has since moved from San Diego to Chicago, donated to a stranger — a veterinarian from Illinois. The recipient’s sister was not a match for her brother so she agreed to donate her  kidney to another patient.

In a chain reaction, relatives of others suffering from kidney failure also answered the call. Eventually, eight kidneys were transplanted, thanks to Cara’s initial gesture.

“Little did I know, one person, just me, no one special, could make such an impact,” she said.

So Cara was in the spotlight at the Brockingtons’ 2010 Pro Athletes for Life gala Tuesday, along with Hollywood producer Ann Lopez. Also there were Rita and Oscar Ayub, a donor and recipient involved in a daisy chain of 21 paired donations. The Brockingtons became avid transplant advocates after Diane donated a kidney to John in 2001.

“I will never have the financial means to help any organization where it would really make an impact,” says Cara. “This was my way of giving.”

No regrets: Ann Lopez, reportedly made the gala her first public appearance since last week’s announcement of her split, after 17 years of marriage, with her actor/comedian husband George Lopez. In 2005 she donated one of her kidneys to him.

“This has been a rough week for me,” Ann told attendees. “But I want you to know that at no point during this time have I regretted my decision to donate.”

Going digital: Marilyn Timmons was born on Oct. 10, 1955, or 10-10-55. This year, her birthday falls on 10-10-10, and she will be 55.

Considering those odds, the Tierrasanta resident says, “I’m wondering if I should go to Las Vegas for the weekend.”

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[MooseMom]

It must be such a magnificent feeling knowing that you have quite literally saved a person's life.  I understand that donating a kidney is a big scary deal, but the knowledge that you have helped someone in this manner must surely trump everything else.  I regularly gave blood for many years, and as I was lying there, I'd let myself daydream about my blood coming to the rescue for someone.  I got such a kick out of it.