The Heart Prevails
LifeShare is pleased
to announce that House Bill 1372, "the Heart Prevails," passed by the North Carolina General Assembly will go into effect
on October 1, 2007. Under the new law, the wishes of North Carolina drivers who have indicated on their license that they
want to be organ donors will be upheld.
Those who are already on the NC registry operated by the NC Department of
Motor Vehicles will be grandfathered in and their next-of-kin will not be able to overturn their decision. The measure only
applies to organ and eye donation. Families will still be consulted before tissue donation proceeds. In all cases, family
members will be asked for the medical and social histories of their loved ones.
Later this fall, NC residents as well
as those who work in the state, will also be able to join the registry online. Watch the web site for more information.
http://www.lifesharecarolinas.org/
For anyone interested I have started a
grief support group on MySpace. You will have to become a member of MySpace to join the group. This is simply
a group to write about your feelings, make new friends and just support each other and help them through their grief.
There are lots of links for grief support here as well. You can go to http://groups.myspace.com/griefsupportofcarolinas to view the group.
My dad passed away from a heart attack. I wanted to make sure that anyone who
is interested can click on the American Heart Association picture and get access to lots of valuable information regarding
heart attacks. There is also information about strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure, and much more. Also you
can make a donation in memory of my father by clicking on the links on the American Heart Association website.
I'm fully aware that grief effects everyone differently. No two people are the same and you can't tell someone
how to grieve. It's comforting to know that we aren't alone in our grief and that there are lots of different ways for
us to come to terms with our loss. I'm thankful that I have a family that shares their stories of my dad, and I have my
memories to share with them. I know that dad is probably thinking that we all need to snap out of it & get
on with our lives. It's not that easy. Losing him is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. Here
are a few links I've found for anyone that would like to look into grief support.
Gaston Hospice sponsors a weekly support group called Grief Connection. 5:00 - 6:00 pm Thursdays, and 11:00
am - 12:00 pm Fridays. Call 704-865-5663 for more information.
There is also a 6 week advanced grief workshop that will be announced soon. The workshop is called Writing
to Heal the Soul. Call Rita Wilkinson at 704-861-8405 for more information.
On the above site they offer support groups on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month at 7:00pm
If you find any links for grief support please email them to me and I will be glad to add them here.
As we all are aware, the family donated any viable organs of my beloved father. LifeShares was able to use his
corneas, arm and leg bones. So far the corneas have been donated to help 2 people see again. LifeShares has also
informed that the bone donations are underway. With the donations of the bones they can help as many as 50 people.
They use the bones to fuse together with other bones, which can help spinal injuries, knee injuries, and hip replacements
to name a few.
If you would like more info on organ donation call 1-800-932-GIVE or visit
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