You Never Know...
Like many of you, I fly a lot. Part of this is because I commute between Columbus and Chicago every week. Sometimes I start my customer related travel from Chicago and others from Columbus. To maximize the return on my travel, I tend to stick with one airline. Not only do the rewards add up, but I get to know the gate agents and the travelers that follow the same schedule. On Southwest, this means that I get A group or early boarding privileges. This leads to middle seatmate roulette.
On Thursday's flight home, 176 of the 175 seats were sold. The idea of an empty seat vanished before I even boarded. Using all of my mental telepathy powers, I tried to suggest the perfect seatmate to enter our row. One bag that fit under the seat, no suitcase, and the look of an experienced flyer. As A's turned to B's and B's to C's, I tried to turn up the power. I thought I recognized a young woman coming down the aisle from a previous flight and motioned for her to join me. Her face lit up and I knew that she recognized me as well. As you might guess, if the opportunity presents itself, I'll initiate a conversation. Apparently our previous conversation was memorable.
Ashley and I pick up where we left off, talking about business, travel, weekend plans, the usual. That's when I mentioned the Dash For Donations in Columbus. It is sponsored by Lifeline Ohio and Donate Life. She asked me why I was going and I told her the full story about how my wife, Jamie found out she needed a Kidney Transplant. Ashley responded by sharing her experience as a Kidney Donor. The whole nature of our conversation and new friendship changed.
I asked her about the transplant process from her perspective. In addition to learning, I wanted to be able to share with the hopes of encouraging more people to be like her. This was four years ago. To prepare, she didn't change her lifestyle. Ashley was healthy and active. Soreness lasted a couple of days. The full recuperation took six weeks. Since then, she is back to running every day and thinks that the awareness of the disease and how to better take care of ourselves in general has made her healthier after the donation.
While you never know who is going to sit next to you, it always pays to be human.
If you are interested in the donation process, please feel free to reach out.
~Jerry
School Bus Assistant working with Special Needs awesome kids. at Petermann LTD
6 年Jerry, I so hope that a transplant is soon in the horizon for Jamie.? I have been so blessed by both of you.? I only have one kidney, or I would be available to donate a kidney to her or to a match person in need.? I have lived my entire life with only one kidney very well.? In fact I was around 30 when it was discovered that I only had one.? If anyone out there that haven't thought about giving life to someone, please do so ASAP.? Go see if you are a match for Jamie or someone else on the waiting list.? They need you.? Also have you marked on your driver's license that you are a donor.? You would be paying forward to many people in need or your organs.? Love you Jamie and Jerry? ? ??