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This Thing Called Life is a podcast dedicated to acts of giving, kindness, compassion, and humanity. Host Andi Johnson introduces you to powerful organ, tissue, and eye donation stories from individuals, families, and front-line healthcare teams. These stories are meant to inspire and remind you that while life can be challenging and unpredictable, it’s also incredibly beautiful. We hope this podcast inspires you to connect with our life-saving and life-healing mission.
Episodes
Feb 8, 2022
Feb 8, 2022
1 min
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. In this episode we talk about the importance of heart health.
Resources:
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
Life Center Phone # 513-558-5555
Feb 1, 2022
Feb 1, 2022
44 min
On this episode of This Thing Called Life, host Andi Johnson is talking with E. Denise Peoples. She is a comedian, actress, singer, writer, producer, radio host, and motivational speaker. She is a double lung transplant recipient, and most importantly, she is a Christian. African Americans are at a higher risk of heart disease. Research suggests that African Americans may carry a gene that makes them more salt sensitive, which increases the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Tune in for her story and great knowledge.
Episode Highlights:
- In December 2000, while coming from the second floor of the house, Denise was short of breath, which lasted until February. She went to her primary doctor, and she was treated for pneumonia but nothing got better.
- Denise got diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which at that time was an older white male smoker’s disease. The only alternative is a lung transplant or double lung transplant as this disease progresses.
- After being selected for a play audition and receiving health-related confirmation from a pulmonologist, Denise learned a lot about her body and herself while in Paris.
- When they came home at the end of 2003, things just started going down, and the disease was progressing so fast. Denise ended up on oxygen 24 hours a day.
- One night around 10 o’clock Denise told her manager that she was so tired of living like this. Soon she had a call from the hospital and they said, “Miss Peoples, we’ve got lungs, we need you to get to the hospital.”
- The next day after surgery, Denise woke up and felt her face, but the nurse asked, “Are you looking for the cannula? She said it’s there, but you are breathing on your own.” These are the absolute best words she had heard in years.
- Andi asks Denise, “You are with New Jersey Sharing Network, which procures organs and tissue for transplant, and they have 57 OPO’s throughout the country. How did you end up there?
- Andi asks, “What do you believe is the reason why African Americans don’t register or think about being a living kidney donor?
- For COVID vaccination, many of us refuse to be vaccinated because of distrust. We want to roll the dice and do something different, and we are just seeing that’s not working, says Denise.
- When Denise got to the emergency room for the Covid swab test, sitting there and waiting for hours was the worst experience because she wondered, “Why do you have a lung transplant patient sitting with everybody else?”
- Once Denise returned home after 21 days in the hospital, she was doing good, was never on oxygen, and was always at room temperature. Her oxygen levels never went under 90. But her body was stiff, and she focused on getting her strength back.
- Andi asks, “
- As we believe in organ and tissue donation, how can we change the narrative around African Americans for kidney donation and this skepticism?
- We need to give a platform to talk about what people believe for themselves and what does your faith tell you because many faith leaders who are opposed to donation would be surprised once they dig into their word and see what it sets, says Andi.
3 Key Points:
- Denise is a Community services specialist with the NJ sharing network. She goes into all types of communities to discuss organ and tissue donation and dispel myths and misconceptions.
- When tested positive for Covid, Denise felt a knee joint pain that she hadn’t ever felt. And after two days, her hand and shoulder started swelling, and then her left-hand knuckle. After that, she was not able to walk or text.
- Denise suggests that we have to continue to spread education about donation in this world before families ever hit the ICU. The community needs those stories. Stop being so secretive that you have kidney problems.
Resources Mentioned:
Jan 28, 2022
Jan 28, 2022
4 min
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
Jan 18, 2022
Jan 18, 2022
39 min
On this episode of This Thing Called Life, host Andi is going to talk with Kelly Williams about her connection to donation. There is a lot of misinformation and falsehoods about donation. One of the goals of this podcast is to really dive in and help listeners better understand what donation is and how it truly impacts others. It can be best accomplished by hearing from the people who have lived it, who have walked, can speak, and share their experiences. Tune in for Kelly’s life saving story.
Episode Highlights:
- Kelly donated her left kidney 13 years ago to Caleb, and Caleb was 12 years old at the time. Caleb celebrated his 25th birthday a few days ago, and he is in such a good place. It is the power of organ donation.
- Andi asks Kelly to take the listeners 13 years back when she was working, she was young and kind of getting her career going, and she met Caleb’s mom at her place of employment.
- The process started in September, and then in December, they ended up getting the call that our transplant date was confirmed, and we were on the books for January 15th, and we did it, says Kelly.
- In the African American community, there are some barriers to donation, and one of them is the lack of transplantation awareness.
- Andi asks, how do you think we’re doing at breaking down the donation-related barriers, and what do you think we could be doing better? Unfortunately, people are not taking the time to get that transplant awareness, and it could ultimately be a death sentence for many people.
- Growing the living kidney donor base of people of color who can stand in front of somebody else and say, you can do it as I did it will probably be most impactful, says Kelly.
- Kelly doesn’t think there are things that she can’t do, and she genuinely doesn’t have any limitations.
- Ask as many questions as possible and determine if kidney donation is something that you can do and if you can’t do it, take that knowledge and share it with somebody else.
- The waitlist continues to increase, and that’s the part that Kelly thinks is so important to highlight. People of color make up the majority of that waitlist for kidney transplants.
- It has been amazing to see over the years the number of people who are stepping up to say, “I will be a generous kidney donor. I don’t know who I can donate to, but I’m going to walk through this process, and I will do it.”
3 Key Highlights:
- When you do something like kidney donation, it gives you such a surge of purpose and energy, and it feels like the best possible outcome that could have ever happened, says Kelly.
- Kelly was young in her 20s when she decided on kidney donation. She tells the listeners how her parents fely about this decision.
- Kidney donation is a big decision, and it is worth contemplation for sure. You want to make sure it is the right thing for you and your family to do.
Resources Mentioned:
Jan 11, 2022
Jan 11, 2022
2 min
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
Jan 4, 2022
Jan 4, 2022
49 min
On this episode of This Thing Called Life, Andi is going to talk to Katie Beurket. She is a program coordinator at Fernside. Fernside is an exceptional organization in Greater Cincinnati. The fernside staff is very honored to continue their legacy of supporting grieving children and families. Katie says they provide peer support groups for children ages 3 to 18 and their parents or legal guardians. Tune in to hear about their valuable work.
Episode Highlights:
- We must understand that many people are struggling right now. They could be grieving a variety of different things or could be mourning the loss of a loved one. So we will talk about those feelings of sadness and how we try to best get through during times like this, says Andy.
- Fernside is a children’s grief center,the second oldest children’s grief center in the country. They were founded 35 years ago by Rachel and Paul Burrell, says Katie.
- Andi asks Katie to share about the switch to virtual during covid and how that has been going.
- Andi asks Katie, “You are very passionate about the work you do; What led you to this?”
- Grief will change throughout your lifespan based on your developmental age. There are different signs of grieving children that correlate with the period that they are at.
- Unfortunately, kids at a young age are experiencing loss, but if we are not educating them and telling them what it means now, they will hear about it later on, and it can affect them badly. Educating kids is also part of grief.
- The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are one of Katie’s favorite age groups because they do start to understand what death means. They understand the permanence of death, and that is when they begin to really ask questions.
- Fernside has over 100 direct service volunteers. They have different lesson plans that are given to them.
- Programs like Fernside and what they offer allow individuals to keep memories alive of their person and create a safe space to talk about it which is so important.
- The National Alliance for Children Grief is an excellent resource for finding things even outside the region. They have a wealth of other information on how to help children who are breathing in different resources, says Katie.
3 Key Points:
- Katie says that they do orientation in their office, and they help give tours to suffering children and families. There is a program called the Pit Crew at Fernside. It is a philanthropy and training.
- A lot of kids don’t understand what happens when people die, they think they are going to come back or don’t understand the permanence of death.
- Fernside is helping families have healthy coping skills to figure out how to move forward because they don’t want anyone to be stuck in their grief forever.
Resources Mentioned:
Dec 28, 2021
Dec 28, 2021
8 min
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.griefincommon.com/
National suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
Life Center Phone # 513-558-5555
Dec 21, 2021
Dec 21, 2021
29 min
On this episode, host Andy is going to talk to Pastor Chris Beard. He is the leader and pastor of the People’s Church located near the University of Cincinnati. They are discussing how the concept of faith intersects with the idea of organ, eye, and tissue donation.
Episode Highlights:
- We just wrapped up national donor Sabbath month, the time when faith leaders or people in their congregation take time out to highlight organ donations within their places of worship, says Andy.
- Chris shares about his congregation statistics and the church.
- The church has been in the process of 20 years of moving from homogeneity into a multicultural reality, which led to a church name change about ten years ago. It was an intentional decision to follow the Scriptures and the vision of Jesus, Chris shares.
- Chris shares how speaking of life means speaking the truth. He calls for continued thought towards and prayer for there to be able people, willing, and a good matches for donation.
- Being created by the creator, we have the ability for creative thinking, and let us trust the scientists, the artists, and the engineers of this world to do what they do to bring the quality of life, says David.
- Andy asks, “For many people who may not be happy this time of year because they are grieving a loss… as a pastor, what would you offer to encourage our listeners?”
- There is a sadness from a loss that will never be fully overcome, and grief is something that has been with us for a lifetime.
- There is healing in sharing with other friends about the memories, feelings, and losses of people who are dear to us.
- A poor theology of new earth and new heaven causes an effect on a lot of decisions in the current day out of lack of knowledge.
- Some of America’s racism and medical history was sinfully, wrongfully made concerning people of color, and that story still keeps people of color from life and health.
- The telling of the true stories will diminish the power of the myths, which is very powerful.
- David asks the listeners to be strategic about organ and tissue donation to the new and younger generation. He says that we need more stories of those who receive the donation and the quality of life added, and hearing their stories will inspire others.
3 Key Points:
- There is a sense in the Christian tradition within evangelicalism or fundamentalism that ‘If my body isn’t buried whole, how will I be raised from the dead properly?’
- David shares his thoughts on what he would say to someone who is very ingrained in their faith in God but doesn’t want to be a donor.
- Andy highlights the myths around tissue and organ donations that sit in the families for generations and somehow become factual.
Resources Mentioned:
- LifeCenter | website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube| Twitter
- Andi Johnson website |LinkedIn
- Organ Donation Website
- Pastor Chris Beard https://www.peopleschurch.co/
Dec 14, 2021
Dec 14, 2021
4 min
40 Years Of Saving Lives In Cincinnati
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. In this episode we talk to Lincoln Ware from Radio One about the celebration of Life Center’s 40th year of saving lives in the greater Cincinnati market.
Resources:
https://www.facebook.com/LifeCenterOH
Life Center Phone # 513-558-5555
Dec 7, 2021
Dec 7, 2021
39 min
During this episode of This Thing Called Life Podcast, host Andi Johnson speaks with Debbie Pollino, a Donate-Life Ambassador for LifeCenter. Unfortunately, Debbie’s experience as an ambassador found its roots in the death of her son Nick after a car crash in 2014. Debbie knows firsthand that grief looks different for everyone and she hopes that sharing her son’s story can help others deal with their own tragedies.
Episode Highlights:
- In January 2014, Debbie lost her son Nick to a car accident, suffering a brain injury that he could not recover from.
- Debbie had no idea that her son Nick was very passionate about organ donation until he noticed that she was one on her license.
- Nick was able to save multiple lives with the organs that were donated from his body.
- 4 months after the death of her son, Debbie attempted to become a Donate-Life Ambassador, but it was still too soon.
- After about 18 months of recovering from the death of her son, Debbie started sharing Nick’s story at schools.
- Nick was a very adventurous and outdoorsy person, driving across the country multiple summers in a row to Northern California.
- After attending Northern Kentucky for college, Nick transferred to a school in Northern California for a forestry program.
- What was supposed to be a 3-month trip to Hawaii for Nick, turned into a 5 ½ year trip.
- The Bernie Madoff pyramid scheme collapse brought an end to Nick’s trip to Hawaii.
- Debbie’s nephews and nieces were like siblings with Nick in life, children to her after Nick’s death.
- Fortunately for Debbie, her family continued to talk about Nick, keeping his spirit all around them.
- Nick had the kind of spirit that makes people proud to remember who he was as a person.
- Debbie had a meltdown recently when she was looking through pictures and realized that she will never have a current one.
- Nick made it all the way to Lima, Peru on a buddy pass for New Years, sleeping in the airport for a week.
- The first time that Debbie went to visit Nick in Hawaii, he jumped off a 60-foot cliff and climbed back up.
- With how up and down the grieving process is, it’s important to have people that you can ask for help.
- Though support groups work for some people, Debbie felt it was more beneficial to be around positive reinforcement.
- Nick was very spiritual in his own way, using nature as his church, as a way to find peace.
- Debbie and her family celebrate Nick on a variety of occasions, especially Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday.
- On August 4th every year, Nick’s birthday, Debbie’s family throws a party to celebrate his life.
- Debbie had the pleasure of meeting Nick’s heart recipient, Brian, and welcoming his family into her family.
- Brian looks and acts the same as Nick, with a similar build and a love for outdoor adventure.
- The pandemic has been especially difficult for Debbie, given how close she is with her family.
- Though it’s hard during the pandemic, don’t hide away from other people while you are grieving.
3 Key Points:
- Debbie lost her 36-year-old son, Nick, after a car accident in January of 2014. Because of his passion for organ donation, he was able to save multiple lives.
- While most days are good, filled with great memories, some days are rough for Debbie when all she wants is a hug from her son.
- Nick’s heart recipient, Brian, a father of 2, has since become a part of Debbie’s family, along with the rest of his family.
Resources Mentioned:
- LifeCenter (website) (Facebook) (Instagram) (YouTube) (Twitter)
- Andi Johnson (website) (LinkedIn)
- Nick’s Heart YouTube Video
- What's your Grief
- Grief in Common
- Fern Side