Jim's Hearts

One of the longer-standing myths in organ donation is that flight crews cannot be organ donors. This is just not true, but it’s actually been one of the more difficult ones to counter. Jim’s story has been just the remedy though. We know of many, many flight attendants, and other crew who have now signed up to be organ donors because they now know that the myth isn’t true, but mostly because they are inspired by Jim.

Some, like Angela, thought they were already signed up. It took only a minute to find out she wasn’t AND to fix that. Monica signed up, and encouraged Joey to do the same. Adrienne signed up and posed for a photo that will further inspire you. And Joe was able to sign up in less than 2 minutes. Remember: everyone can be an organ donor – you just need to be at least 16 years old.

These amazing people were inspired to sign up to be a donor. Let them inspire you.

Be a donor! If you are not in Ontario, click here to find out how to sign up.

Angela

Joey & Monica

Adrienne

Joe

Yesterday, Marah shared a happy family picture from Father’s Day. She captioned it “he made it to the patio to enjoy ice cream…”. Our first thought was “awww – that’s a great picture, and everyone looks so happy”. But then, the caption made us pause. Did it make you stop and think too? Jim managed to make it out for a simple ice cream with his wife and children — a big deal. It put things into perspective for us once again.

While waiting for a new heart, Jim is managing to make it through each day. It’s difficult, but he’s doing it. Do you think you could manage to take two minutes to sign up to be a donor? We promise — it’s not difficult, and Jim and the over 1500 people waiting for an organ transplant in Ontario alone need you to do it. Can you manage it? We know you can. When you do, drop us a note to let us know!

Be inspired by Jim’s story. Be a donor and talk to your family about it. Not from Ontario?  Click here.

The one thing that keeps Jim, Marah, Ellis and Brett going is hope. Hope that everyone signs up to be a donor. Hope that today is a good day. Hope that tomorrow will be a better one. Hope that they can keep it going as long as it takes. Hope that some day very soon, Jim will get a new heart.

This is a family that finds a way to be positive in the face of unbelievable challenge. They’ve surrounded themselves with family and friends that are supportive and share their hope and confidence that everything will be alright.

It will be alright. Share in the hope – sign up to be a donor in Ontario or across Canada, and talk to your family about it.

Be inspired by Jim’s story.

We’ve come to a sobering conclusion lately. While the concept of signing up to be an organ donor is a complete slam dunk for us, most people just don’t want to think about it. They don’t want to think about dying, or life after someone they love dies. We get that. But registering to be an organ donor isn’t about waiting for someone to die. It’s about the greatest gift you can give – life. It’s about hope. It’s about something incredibly positive.

So how do we turn the message around so it becomes something everyone can embrace? Talking about Jim’s story is one way – putting a real face to the waiting list – but maybe we need to make it even more simple. Registration = hope. Increasing the number of people registered to be organ donors is about increasing hope. Can we all think about it from that perspective? Register to be an organ donor today – increase the numbers, increase hope.

Be inspired. Not in Ontario? Find out how to sign up here.

In honour of Father’s Day this year, we’d like you to put yourself in Jim and Marah’s children’s shoes. Just for a moment. We promise it will provide the urgency you need to sign up to be a donor.

Jim is a very sick man. He needs a new heart. The impact of his chronic illness is devastating to his two children. Brett, the youngest, is a stoic young man (no question as to where that comes from) who has lived with his dad’s illness pretty much all his life. When asked what he wants for his dad, his words are almost swept away until he quietly wishes that “things could be normal again – though I’m not sure what that is for Dad………maybe for him to not hurt so much”.

Now Ellis, Jim and Marah’s first-born, has a special relationship with her Dad. It’s that classic daddy-daughter bond, but in this case so powerful for both of them. For Jim, upon the birth of his beautiful daughter his “very own family” began. As an adopted child himself, the wonder of the little pink bundle in his arms was more than he ever wished for. For Ellis, the bond she has with her “Daddy” is unbelievably strong – he’s the rock, the sounding board, the hero and the foundation in her life. And now, her anguish at her daddy’s illness is beyond words. She spends a lot of her time just sitting with him – truly for the joy of it, sometimes though with tears in her eyes, feeling protective and scared. Both Brett and Ellis are living with fear for their dad, and the agony of watching him wait for the heart transplant that could save his life.

If you are still in Brett and Ellis’s shoes it’s very hard to understand why everyone is not signed up to be an organ donor isn’t’ it? Save this father’s life, and all the other fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers, and children on the waiting list for an organ transplant.

On this Father’s Day, sign up to be an organ donor in Ontario and anywhere in Canada. (Not from Canada? Contact us and we’ll help you find out how to sign up where you live.) Save a life. Please – be inspired by Jim’s story and by Brett and Ellis. Share this message far and wide.

(Jim introducing Brett to Ellis)

When you are steeped in the world of organ transplant donation like we’ve become, you think of little else. A seemingly innocent comment might get us started on a passionate plea to sign up to be an organ donor. A heart-shaped potato chip might have us scrambling to take a picture and post on the Jim’s Hearts Facebook page. It has changed the way we think, the way we spend our free time, our lives.

But this shift in our lives is absolutely nothing compared to Jim’s new reality. Jim remains on the waiting list for a new heart. He doesn’t have much of a choice but to think about whether or not people will sign up to be an organ donor. Yes, Jim and his family have hope and a generally positive outlook — but oh, it’s hard.

Are you inspired by Jim’s story? Sign up to be a donor and talk to your family. Share the message. Today. Jim is still waiting.

You know when you call your kids for dinner and say “dinner’s in two minutes!” – think about that allotment of time. When you are waiting for the dry-cleaner to find your suit “ah, just give me two minutes” – stop and register how long that takes. Even when you reheat that left-over soup in the microwave….for two minutes. It’s not very much time is it? So why is it so hard for Canadians to take just 2 minutes to sign up to be an organ donor?? It isn’t hard – it’s easy. And unlike your children who are rather unlikely to make it to the dinner table in two minutes, signing up to be an organ donor really only takes two minutes.

Take the two minutes. You could save up to 8 lives. Like Jim’s life.

Be inspired. Be a donor. Talk to your family.

This is our 40th post. What we don’t want though is for our very basic message to get lost in a whole bunch of words. So here’s the bottom line:

Sign up to be a donor.

Talk to your family about it.

That’s it. The inspiration behind these simple messages? Jim. Jim and his family have been waiting for a new heart since January 2013. He is one of 4500+ people on the waitlist for an organ transplant. The waiting is unbelievably hard. Really, that’s all the reason you need to take 2 minutes out of your day. Simple.

Please – be inspired by Jim’s story. Share it. Be a donor.

Along the way, we’ve talked to a lot of people about registering to be an organ donor. One really surprising response we’ve received is this: “I want the doctor to do everything they can to save my life – if I’m a registered organ donor, they won’t“. First of all, no – that’s just not true. And second of all, wow.

The truth is, if you are in a situation where you are sick or injured, the first priority is you and to save your life. Only when all lifesaving efforts have failed is the potential for organ donation even considered. And this is by a completely separate health care team specifically responsible for transplantation.

We hope this hasn’t been keeping you from signing up, but now that it’s been cleared up – go ahead and sign up to be a donor. Don’t forget to talk to your family.

Be inspired by Jim’s story.