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This Thing Called Life is a podcast about acts of giving, kindness, compassion, and humanity. Host Andi Johnson, will introduce you to powerful stories about organ, eye, and tissue donation from individuals, families and front-line health care teams, whose experiences will hopefully inspire you and remind you, that while life is hard and unpredictable, it’s also beautiful. We hope this podcast serves as a catalyst for you to register to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Episodes
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Todos Pueden Ser Donantes
During this episode of This Thing Called Life, host Andi Johnson speaks with Courtney Schapier, a liver donor, the sister of a liver recipient, and one of the Organ Donation Coordinators at LifeCenter. Upon learning about her brother’s need for a liver, Courtney made the incredibly brave decision to make a difference. Her story is simply amazing!
Episode Highlights:
- Courtney has been an Organ Donation Coordinator at LifeCenter for the past 6-7 years.
- Donation Coordinators handle the medical management and evaluation for organ donors.
- Amongst other responsibilities, Courtney plays a large part in matching organs to donors.
- Sometimes, organ donation acts as the silver lining to families that are going through an incredibly hard time.
- Donation coordination is a 24-hour job because donation does not run on a 9-5 schedule.
- From the time that a case opens to the time it closes, Courtney is on the clock for 36 hours.
- Courtney uses CrossFit and a great support system as outlets for the high stress levels of this job.
- With such a high-stress job, it’s no surprise that there is a high level of turnover.
- There have been times where the stress of the job has made Courtney question her desire to be here.
- COVID brought everything to a screeching halt when it first exploded back in March.
- The sheer amount of unknown information has made the ongoing global pandemic that much scarier.
- Things have finally begun to get back to normal, meaning more lives are being saved via organ donation.
- In 2016, Courtney’s brother discovered a huge mass on his liver that required a transplant.
- Unfortunately, Courtney lost her father when she was only 2 months old, so her brother acted as a father to her.
- Courtney was informed that she was a donor match for her brother while supporting a family that was pulling life-support.
- The weight of the situation started to feel heavy when Courtney sat on the pre-op table.
- Sitting outside the OR doors on the pre-op table, Courtney was rolled back for surgery after only 20 or 30 minutes.
- There were a handful of signs that something was wrong with Courtney’s brother’s liver long before the doctors caught it.
- After everything was said and done, it took a 10-hour procedure for Courtney to donate over half of her liver.
- The first thing that Courtney can remember is getting sick immediately after surgery.
- Courtney finally got to see her brother when she was transferred to the ICU.
- It was a complete shift in lifestyle for Courtney from the moment that she found out she was a donor match for her brother.
- Finding living liver donors is more rare than finding living kidney donors.
- Both Courtney and her brother fully recovered and are as healthy as they can be today.
- TX Jet was kind enough to donate its services to fly Courtney and her family out for surgery.
- After her donation, Courtney was sure that she was at the right job at LifeCenter.
- Courtney was comforted by the knowledge that everything in her life made her the perfect donor for her brother.
- This year, Courtney is focusing on being more present when she is with loved ones.
- The amazing thing about donation and transplantation is the opportunity to potentially save a life.
3 Key Points:
- Organ Donation Coordinators manage everything from the moment a donor decides to donate, to the time that the organ is sent to its recipient.
- It takes a very special person to not only manage the responsibilities of being a Donation Coordinator, but also the rollercoaster of emotions that come with the job.
- Courtney donated just over 50% of her own liver, which was oversized, to begin with, to save her brother’s life.
Resources Mentioned:
- LifeCenter (website) (Facebook) (Instagram) (YouTube) (Twitter)
- Andi Johnson (website) (LinkedIn)
- TX Jet (website)
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Episode 76: MAY 2023 Appreciation and Community Impact Events
It’s been a minute! April was National Donate Month, and we honored and celebrated our donor heroes across the region. Now sliding into May, we extend our gratitude to nurses and teachers, Happy National Nurses Week, National Transplant Nurses Week, and National Teacher Appreciation Week!
Episode Highlights:
- Life Center partnered with Hospitals across the region to honor donors, healthcare teams, and recipients.
- They also celebrated the donor heroes from 2022 with the Anual Donor Family Recognition ceremony.
- Life Center also partnered with the Center For Closing the Health Gap to discuss generational health and the Black Community at the Annual Health Expo
- A partnership with the Cincinnati Reds also kicked off by honoring a donor hero
- Sliding into May, we extend our gratitude to nurses and teachers, Happy National Nurses Week, National Transplant Nurses Week, and National Teacher Appreciation week!
- 103,871 Men, Women, and Children need life-saving organ transplants, and 21 people will die because what they need isn’t available.
- Learn the importance of registering to be a donor, and why it matters!
3 Key Points:
- Life Center partnered across the Region to honor and celebrate donors, healthcare teams, and recipients.
- May will be a month of gratitude towards Nurses and Teachers!
- We must learn the importance of registering as a donor, why it matters, and the truth about organ donation.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “Today, 103,871 Men, Women, and Children need life-saving organ transplants, and 21 people will die because the organ they need isn’t available.” - Andi
- “Take a moment to learn why donation matters, and why registering to be a donor absolutely matters.” - Andi
Resources:
https://lifepassiton.org/board-of-directors-leadership/
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
On this episode of This Thing Called Life, Andi Johnson speaks with Aimee Cordrey. She will be sharing the gift of life that her son, Nicholas has given to many recipients and how influenced others to do the same. She will also be reflecting some light upon the life of her son and sharing her story of grief and pathway to healing. Tune in now for this special story.
Episode Highlights:
- Aimee Cordrey is married to Darren Cordray. They have been married for over 20 years and been together for a little bit longer than that. They met in college, and they have two sons Richard, a 19 year old, and Nick, who would be 17, but he is forever 15. Both of them are athletes, very different yet very similar in their interests and just how they approach life.
- In the middle of the pandemic Aimee and her family had been quarantined like everyone else for quite some time. School had just ended. Nick had just finished freshman year of high school and it was Memorial Day. Nick and Aimee went shopping that day to get some hamburgers and some vegetables and different things to grill out.
- Nick hadn't seen his friends because of quarantine. Aimee allowed him to go meet some of his friends at a local ice cream shop that was within walking distance of their house because one of his best friends was leaving for vacation the next day and she was going to be gone for two weeks.
- Nick decided to take a shower at night. All of a sudden Aimee heard the water go on and then they heard some really heavy, intense breathing, they were shocked. They thought it was our other son Richard, playing video games. She went to the basement, but it was not Richard, it was Nick.
- Nick loved life and he approached everything with this attitude of – "I can do it." His family really believed he was going to be okay and pull through.
- Aimee explains how and when they went about the conversation of Nick being an orgn donor. The hospital staff acknowledged all the protocols that they have in place, and they contacted Life Center.
- Nick had not yet been able to get his temps. He would have been eligible for them. The month that everything happened, he had actually registered as an organ donor.
- The letter that Aimee received said that Nick saved five people with seven organs, and probably impacted 40 to 50 others. The only thing Nick was unable to donate was his intestines, which they initially believed he was going to be able to do until they started doing the surgery.
- Aimee shares her thoughts on what it all meant to her, Darren and Richard to know that Nick helped so many people by donating his organs.
- “Learning that sometimes bad things happen to good people and learning to be ok with that and it is not even being ok with it, it's just accepting it- that is one piece of it. The donation piece brings that pride.” -Aimee
- Aimee thinks that being able to talk about organ donation enables her to talk about Nick.
- Andi feels like Aimee is doing so much just to help people understand the magnitude of the donation and its impact.
- Andi asks Aimee about the project that she is working on at his school in his honor.
- One of Nick's friends, Grayson, started a change.org petition. He wanted to have the school board name the soccer field after Nick.
- There isn't a lesson here when it comes to losing a son. The only lesson that Aimee has learned is that bad things happen to good people, and she has learned that when you encounter a loss like this you integrate it into your life, you don't overcome it.
- Grief is something that has stages and some stages may be re-visited at times. It is ongoing.
- Nick loved everything. All of the time he was researching, reading to understand deeply, caring deeply, everything was with passion, everything was with full intent. He didn't do anything without truly caring about it. If he was gonna do it, he was doing it 100% all in and that's what Nick was, and he is.
3 Key Points:
- Nick had a brain aneurysm that his family didn't know about. Nick did not complain of a headache that day. He didn't have any signs of anything that day. He had an amazing day, and it was that quick. They called 911. They were very quick, they took him to the hospital, his aneurysm ruptured three times. At the hospital, they did surgery on him and for 9 days his family thought Nick was going to make it.
- Aimee tells the listeners how Nick was able to help other people through the gift of life that he was able to give.
- Each one of us is different. Unique as people, Aimee thinks everyone's grief is very unique. She needed to be around other people. Aimee thinks that the donor family council is amazing. They are a source of strength. They are unshakable.
Resources Mentioned:
- LifeCenter | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube| Twitter
- Andi Johnson website |LinkedIn
- Organ Donation Website
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Episode 74: The Incredible Journey Of Receiving A Kidney
On this episode of This Thing Called Life, Andi is going to talk to Marty and Bonnie Garneret. Bonnie is not only Marty’s wife but his kidney champion also. Marty and his wife have been married for 41 years this month, and he says that has married an angel without wings. He shares his special journey; You don’t want to miss it!
Episode Highlights:
- There are two types of diabetes, type one, which you are born with, and in that, your body does not produce any insulin, so you are on insulin shots from the time you are born. The second type comes from heredity, bad eating, lack of exercise, or all the bad stuff you do - lifestyle factors.
- If the doctor says you are prediabetic, that means your sugar is running high regularly, and it is destroying your body. So, you need to get to a specialist or endocrinologist.
- It is not a disease to be taken lightly because it leads to chronic kidney disease, which Marty has. If you don’t pay enough attention to it, then you are graded on a scale of stage one to stage five transplant material, and that is where Marty is at 70 years of age.
- When you first start out with kidney disease, you are one of about 100 to 150,000 people on a list of possible recipients. Marty is lucky enough to meet a gal named Darcy Gibson, who has a foundation, a charitable organization, called Off The List, inc.
- To go through initial testing is a rigorous process. There are three different people you meet with. One is a social worker to check your mental capacity, the second is a nutritionist to manage your diet, and the third is a team of doctors and nurses that help you through tests.
- To get off the list, you have to receive a donor’s kidney, and Bonnie has done this through Facebook, through yard signs, emails, and extensive, unbelievable work this woman has done on Marty’s behalf.
- The list that Marty is talking about is a list to receive a deceased donor kidney. To get a living donor kidney, you must find someone willing to donate, a friend, a relative, or just a generous donor, and it is tough.
- It is a completely anonymous process, as someone is tested on your behalf. You would never know that because hospitals take that very seriously, and they want to ensure that the person who is doing this wants to do it for the right reasons and that there is no sense of pressure.
- Bonnie decided that UPPO would be perfect because people would have to ask a question and start the conversation. What is UPPO, or who is UPPO? Life for UPPO is a Facebook page, and we are working with Christ Hospital, and Trisha is the donor coordinator.
- The typical diabetic signs that Marty paid no attention to was he slept 12 hours and felt like he didn’t sleep 5 minutes. He drank unbelievable amounts of liquid, whether it be coffee, pop, water, and he lost a lot of weight.
- The diet you have to be on when looking for a kidney is extremely difficult. There are many things to avoid and take care of.
- There are two categories of people when it comes to the conversation about being a living donor. We need to do a better job of filling the gap of information and helping people understand this is something they can do.
- Children’s hospitals prefer to give it to children, and they should. But if something happened and there aren’t any children who would need it, then the adult on that list would receive a kidney.
- One of Marty’s dreams has always been that he would like to start in Maine and eat lobster all the way down the East Coast until they have to get an oversized bus to take him home.
- Marty looks good on the outside, but he’s not good on the inside, and that's what a lot of people don’t understand because he looks great. But they don’t understand that the kidney function is still going down, and you can’t see that.
- If people understood how grateful recipients were, it would cause a lot more people to donate because they are heroes and become angels without wings.
- Bonnie has read a lot on the national kidney Instagram page and other places that donors live longer than people who have not donated.
3 Key Points:
- Marty and Bonnie tell the listeners about the Facebook page they set up for people. The Facebook page is called life for UPPO. UPPO is Marty just because their oldest grandson when he was very young, can’t say Grandpa, and he came out with UPPO.
- Marty doesn’t think people understand how serious this disease is, and it will kill you. Many thousands of people die every day from kidney failure, and several things work against you.
- Marty and Bonnie talk about the misconception surrounding kidney donation.
Resources Mentioned:
- LifeCenter | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube| Twitter
- Andi Johnson website |LinkedIn
- Organ Donation Website
- https://www.facebook.com/life4uppo
- Tricia Monson Christ Hospital Donor Coordinator 513-585-1440
- Marty and Bonnie Garneret
- Off the list inc, Darci Gibson
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
On this episode of This Thing Called Life Podcast, host Andi Johnson is going to talk to Shelly Sherman and Stephanie Jackson. They are discussing kidney health and an exciting new project that is being launched to shed light on kidney disease as well as prevention. No doctor or medical expert will kill you for your organs; In fact, no medical professional is aware of your donor status until your death is declared. Tune in for more information!
Episode Highlights:
- Host Andi Johnson has a few big asks. Will you join us and be a part of this interconnected life sustaining community by registering to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor? Will you make the commitment to become more educated about living donation and championing the donation cause?
- Shelly is associated with the Cincinnati, Ohito chapter of The Links, Incorporated and she served as the Health and Human Services Facet Committee chair.
- The Ohio central chapter was granted an award by Baxter International for increasing the awareness of kidney health in the communities in which Shelly lives and primarily in the African American community.
- What is GFR? Shelly has been working hard in the community to make sure people know where they are regarding their GFR, which lets them know how well their kidneys are functioning and what they can do to maintain kidney health.
- The Links organization was founded in 1946 on the premise of friendship, and Shelly wants to uplift and elevate people by providing health information.
- Stephanie and Shelly first met through collaboration with The Center For Closing the Health Gap.
- Shelly had goals in mind based on the grant they received regarding the number of people that they needed to touch and the number of community partnerships that they needed to do.
- Shelly and Stephaine share the experiences they have had with training sessions and connecting in the community. They hope people will continue to listen to the podcast and continue doing some things and spreading the word in their communities.
- When people are ill, you can see it on their skin and eyes. You can notice the effects of kidney and liver illness on the skin and other body systems.
- Garlic is great for decreasing inflammation; It has Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Manganese, a great alternative for your seasoning. If you want to decrease your psyllium, you can add more garlic, which is great for your heart and your kidney.
- The one thing is to avoid canned and packaged chicken breast because those can contain sodium and other preservatives.
- Raising awareness and making small changes goes such a long way in promoting healthier lifestyles. There is a great ripple effect too when you share information like this with those in your family and circles.
3 Key Points:
- Blueberries are an important food for kidney patients. They serve as antioxidants and are very good for healing. In addition, they help your body to increase urination.
- People talk about dialysis and transplant, and these are things that you want to avoid. By opting for a healthier lifestyle and changes in the food you eat, you can do that.
- There are so many ways you can just move your body, and Stephanie always tells people 15 to 20 minutes is sufficient. Make sure that your body is doing something that it doesn’t do every day.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “Whatever we are putting in our body, the body is going to use, and if we don’t put in things that our body can use, then our body is not going to be able to function the way it’s supposed to.” – Stephaine
- “Your body does need fat but only healthy fats because it helps everything stay lubricated and work well in all facets.” – Stephaine
- “So much of what happens to us is preventable, and a lot of it is due to a lack of information that is sometimes missed in our community.” – Shelly
- “Sometimes, we do have a mistrust of the medical systems, and we don’t get some of the information that we need to have, but we can share it and start to educate each other.” - Shelly
Resources Mentioned:
- LifeCenter | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube| Twitter
- Andi Johnson website |LinkedIn
- Organ Donation Website
- https://www.cincinnatilinks.org/black-kare-initiative
- https://www.facebook.com/CincinnatiLinks
- https://www.instagram.com/cincinnatilinks/
- https://www.yoursweetestlife.com/
- https://www.facebook.com/yoursweetestlifewithstephaniej
- https://www.instagram.com/yoursweetestlifewithstephaniej/
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Community Heroes is a special extension of This Thing Called Life’s podcast. In this series we talk to community leaders, share important information about organ and tissue donation and honor those who have been instrumental in saving lives through the gift of donation.
Resources:
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
Life Center Phone # 513-558-5555
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
March is National Kidney Month. On this episode of This Thing Called Life, host Andi Johnson talks with Mike McConnell about kidney health and community outreach.
Resources:
https://lifepassiton.org/board-of-directors-leadership/
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
https://www.youtube.com/user/LifeCenterOH
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Community Heroes is a special extension of This Thing Called Life’s podcast. In this series we talk to community leaders, share important information about organ and tissue donation and honor those who have been instrumental in saving lives through the gift of donation.
Resources:
https://lifepassiton.org/
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
https://www.instagram.com/lifecentercincy/
https://www.youtube.com/user/LifeCenterOH
https://twitter.com/LifeCenterCincy
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
March is National Kidney Month. On this episode of This Thing Called Life, host Andi Johnson talks with someone who saw a vital need and acted on it in regards to living kidney donation, Brett Milam. Tune in to hear his journey as a living kidney donor.
Episode Highlights:
- Andi previews National Kidney Month and the importance of education. Kidney disease, diabetes is often referred to as the silent killer.
- There are more than 37 million Americans who have Kidney disease and high blood pressure which often leads to kidney failure.
- More than 90,000 people are waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.
- To get more information about kidney health and prevention, please visit lifepassiton.org or nkf.org today.
- Guest, Brett Milam, shares when he first thought about kidney donation. He saw a fellow journalist through Instagram who made it seem really doable.
- Andi asks Brett to talk about the process to become a donor. He went through UC Medical Center.
- Brett says you don't pay anything to be a living donor and the commitment was not overwhelming. The Medical Center even reimbursed his parking tickets.
- Andi talks about the safeguards in place for routes of discrimination.
- How long do you need to be off work?
- Brett shares what it feels like when your organs are reconfiguring after surgery.
- Brett has visited dialysis centers and talks about what it is like.
- What if your family needs a kidney after you have previously donated?
- The fall after his surgery he went skydiving for the second time in his life. He talks about the drawal to do it.
- He overcame his fear of public speaking to champion this cause and in 2022, Brett decided to work for Life Center.
- Andi asks Brett to talk about mental health. He had a personal journey with depression that he navigated through and what helped him overcome.
- What is talk therapy?
- If you are struggling with mental health, Brett has advice for you. He said do not fear telling your primary care physician that you are struggling mentally. You may have to go through different therapists and/or medications but it is very worth it.
- Andi talks about recognizing managing new normal after covid and how Life Center decided to offer counseling to their staff.
- Brett loves to read. He talks about what he enjoys reading. He recently read Stranger In The Woods.
- Brett did not know who his donor recipient was but it was still such a fulfilling experience.
- Andi reminds listeners that there are 103,933 men women and children who need life saving organ transplants. What can you do to help?
3 Key Points:
- March is National Kidney Month. Many Americans have kidney disease and high blood pressure which often leads to kidney failure which then in turn requires dialysis or kidney transplant. It is important to be educated to be out in front of the disease in prevention.
- Brett Milam shares that it was a simple calculation for him to decide to be a living kidney donor.
- Life Center’s mission and purpose drew Brett in. He thought he would work in journalism forever until a perfect turn of events led him to use his skills for this specific organization.
Resources: