Recipe for Disaster

I have wanted to write about this for a while, but needed some time to digest everything I saw and experienced. I spent a week in Fort Worth, TX as a public affairs associate, covering the North Texas floods. It was surreal. There were entire communities that were water logged. People had lost everything and it called to my attention the real reason I was there.

As public affairs professionals, we are trained to deal with media, conduct interviews and do lots of writing. We talk A LOT mostly because it's in our nature. While I was in Texas, I learned to listen, and it was humbling to say the least. Seeing all the people affected by the floods was an eye opening experience. I saw people in Horseshoe Bend, TX who had nothing but were still giving everything to their small community. I saw a woman who had six children whose roof was caving in because of the torrential rains and she thought she had no where to turn, but the organization I work for was there giving her shelter, food and comfort. I saw compassion at its finest.

I listened. I listened and I learned that flooding can destroy homes, but it can't destroy a person's spirit or a communities spirit for that matter.

It's a fine balance- knowing when to say what to a flood victim. But, sometimes you don't have to say anything at all.

Instead of me going on and on about this, I think pictures tell the story a little better.

where do we go now?

For no apparent reason, I can't get Sweet Child 'o Mine (GNR) out of my head.

I have about 6 posts that I've started and saved on various topics and for whatever reason, I can't bring myself to put them up here. There's no writer's block, but there are events that I've given considerable thought to in the past few months and experiences that have occurred that have changed the way I see the world. I thought life was supposed to make more sense as you grew up - there were supposed to be more answers and less questions and I've found that it's the exact opposite.

I've been giving a lot of thought to Vinay. If you don't know, he needs a bone marrow transplant and he needs it now. I don't know him personally, I only know him through the web, but from what I have read, it makes a good case for South Asians to get themselves in gear and on the registry.

My first real job was a Donor Recruitment Representative for the organization I currently work for. My entire goal was to ensure that there was an adequate supply of blood in the hospitals so that when patients needed it, they could have it. I coordinated blood drives, helped sponsors recruit donors by using media and advertising strategies and on many occasions, I got to teach communities about the importance of their donation - who it goes to and how it gets there. Admittedly, it's not an easy job - but damn it was so rewarding. I remember a mother coming up and hugging me and saying that her daughter was alive because I was out there doing the the work that I do and educating people on how they can help. It was even more powerful when I met her daughter - a 2 year old who had survived and used many, many units of blood during an operation. Such a small body that relied on several people's gracious donations to sustain her and make her better. I remember leaving that drive and being on top of the world.

It's important to understand that one donation can make a difference. Similarly, a simple cheek swab - and it could be yours - can save the life of Vinay and/or Sameer. When I was at my old job, I met an extraordinary girl - a marrow recruitment rep. - who had matched and donated to a female who was in her mid-40's. A couple years later they ran a marathon together. And then a while after that, this same extraordinary girl was a match for her mother who needed a bone marrow transplant. She went through the process again and saved her mother's life. We used to call her the "universal donor." You know, there are times in life where you rise to the challenge - and this girl did...twice. I think it might be time for the rest of us to do the same and at least get tested and typed.
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What if it were you who needed the transplant?