Lifelines for Heart Patients
How Media Links Represent a Lifeline of Hope for Heart Surgery Patients
There is one unexpected outcome of putting this Blog out there. I figured it to be a resource and a forum for commentary, but I never expected it to become part of a process.
A process that plays a substantial role in the lives of individuals who have undergone heart surgery, they are “off bypass” so to speak- but their lives continue, in part because of the role we play as perfusionists.
Ours is not a 9-5 job.
It is more like a pre- during- and post CPB type of mind set, but we rarely deal with the results and aftermath of our efforts.
Say “Hello” to Joshua…
That would be this guy...
It would also be this guy…
And this guy…
But when we saw him…
He was this guy
The Point to be Made
Is that the “Joshua’s out there continue their lives. Not as we continue ours, but as recipients and awaiting recipients of medical interjection to salvage and maintain their lives.
I don’t know about you, but I have no clue what it’s like to worry about a battery failure that might kill me. A mild infection that may lead to organ rejection, or any of the unanticipated day-to-day things in our lives that escape us- but become unexpected hazards for bridge-to-transplant patients, or any other patient on the edge of continuity.
It is a brave thing you do
To go on.
And here are some of the examples of how people fight- not just so that THEY survive, but so others after them can learn from them and perhaps live a minute/hour/day/year longer.
It takes courage to live.
Here is how Joshua does it…
He set up a Website…
Click Image to View Website…
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He set up a Twitter Account…
Click Image to View Twitter Account…
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He set up a FaceBook Page …
Click Image to View FaceBook Profile…
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And what was there to be gained in the process?
From my observation…
Nothing- and yet everything in the same breath.
Joshua has spent a lot of time on a chopping block, helping others that just got there. He has asked for nothing and yet he offers so much in terms of support and toughness to other people that require mechanical assistance to live.
What separates him from the rest of us? 2 mm of plaque in a major coronary artery, and bad luck to not recognize a silent MI.
But that doesn’t really tell the tale at all.
What truly makes a person like Joshua great is his heart. Without it- he wouldn’t be here.
At First Glance it’s a “Victory” – a Great Story
But who is it a great story for? Certainly for Joshua who had the will to endure and survive. It’s an excellent human interest piece… Man survives- blah blah blah, incredible odds- woof woof woof, amazing recovery- etc etc etc...
But what about tomorrow? Or today for that fact? What does Joshua do on those days? How do you deal with people close to you that have written you off? (Certainly not by intention- but as a protective mechanism for what they may see as an inevitable road block to life’s continuation.)
It’s water uncrossed at this point in my opinion. None of us know. So the next step is to a place unknown. And that can be scary.
Fate awaits a transplant. But that means a live heart and a dead brain. Life awaits a transaction of compromise and rejuvenation.
It takes will to survive.
But it’s heroic to be in the middle of the storm- and still send out a lifeline to someone less strong or capable.
And following Joshua, that’s pretty much what he does- take care of others.
Well it got my attention
So I took a closer look. We did an Interview – and if you want to see what led up to it click here.
The actual interview followed a month later. To see it click here.
The interview was great, but had some missing pieces. The primary one was how does the story end?
I personally don’t care for the after credits obit when I watch a movie. I consider this man a friend- so I couldn’t just walk away from a guy in a canoe with a small leak in it- when paddling in 500 ft of deep rough lake waters.
The most significant contributions to the outcome of Mr. Joshua Morris is what he himself has implemented and dictates…
That would be Hope…
Well he has definitely been a beacon for that…
Here are some examples of Courage:
And Commitment
A bit of Faith …
And some Inspiration…
