Dust in The Wind

Coalition On Donation

In Loving Memory of my mom, Mary, who went to Heaven June 25, 1997.

When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Dundee, Scotland, it was believed that she had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through her meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Ireland. The old lady's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the North Ireland Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on her simple, but eloquent, poem. And this little old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this "anonymous" poem winging across the Internet.

What do you see, nurses? What do you see?
What are you thinking when you're looking at me?

A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles her food and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice, "I do wish you'd try!"

Who seems not to notice the things that you do,
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe?

Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill?

Is that what you're thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, you're not looking at me.

I'll tell who I am as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters, who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet.

A bride soon at twenty, my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep.

At twenty-five now, I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide them and a secure happy home.

A woman of thirty, my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man's still beside me to see I don't mourn.

At fifty once more, babes play round my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look at the future, I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old woman and nature is cruel;
'Tis jest to make old age look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles, grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone where once was a heart.

But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,
And now and again, my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again.

I think of the years, all too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people, open and see,
Not a crabby old woman; look closer . . . see ME!

Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within … we will one day be there, too!

If you or someone you know needs financial assistance to obtain a transplant, please contact:

NTAF
National Transplant Assistance Fund

Formerly National Heart Assist and Transplant Fund

National Transplant Assistance Fund

Do You Want to Recycle Yourself?

Twenty-five percent of the more than 51,000 people waiting for an organ transplant will die before being transplanted. One organ donor can save seven lives, but a critical shortage of organs is due to one simple fact. Too few potential donors share their decision with their families. Forty-five percent of the people approached in a hospital setting about the donation of a loved one's organs refuse the opportunity. More families are willing to donate a loved one's organs if the issue has been discussed before the need arises.

This bumper sticker is available from NTAF!!

Get a free donor card!

VISIT U.S.A. TODAY

For your free printable DONOR CARD with instructions on how to make sure your wishes are carried out. Unfortunately, many would-be donors never have their organs donated because their families don't know of their donor cards. The signed donor card alone is not enough.

Stadtlander's Pharmacy
Transplant Resources

At Stadtlanders Pharmacy, we witness the miracle of organ transplantation every day through the thousands of transplant recipients we serve. Stadtlanders makes life easier for transplant recipients by offering medication delivery and compliance, education materials, and insurance billing.

New Law Can Help You
Keep Your Health Coverage

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 - also known as the Kennedy-Kasselbaum law- is intended to protect Americans who move from one job to another, who are self-employed or have pre-existing medical conditions. Most provisions of the law took effect July 1, 1997.
The law includes changes that:
1) Protect many workers who change jobs or lose jobs by providing better access to health insurance coverage;
2) Limit exclusions for pre-existing conditions;
3) Prohibit discrimination against employees and dependents based on their health status; and
4) Guarantee renewability and availability of health coverage to certain employers and individuals.

Read theKennedy-Kasselbaum Bill

Nancy's Home Page

Contains other transplant info and links.
Visit and click the PSA button.

Life Is.........

LIFE IS about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
About not starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why.
And who your judgments are spread to.
It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about stopping jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about stopping inner hate and fostering inner love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch and not poison other peoples' hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those choices are what life's all about.

The A.M.A. Home Site.......

The American Medical Association

Here's a great site for heart information of all kinds:

The Heart Information Network

Search more than 100 newspapers for articles and information at:

NEWSWORKS

Visit The Disabilities Resource Site....

For Disability Information.

Transplant Recipients International Organization (Trio)
Information is available at Trio

NASCAR DIE-CAST

Visit Justin at....
CaRz N sTuFf.

Visit Liveritup....Judy's Home Page.
Judy is a liver recipient with a very touching story about her donor.

Visit Life goes on....EllieSue's Home Page.
Lots of good information available at this site!

To send a link to a friend
Click here

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E-Mail The TXmn at:

TXmnJim@oocities.com

     

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