Today would have been Eirik’s 10th transplantiversary. Much like his birthday, he didn’t love celebrating this holiday. He would prefer to stew at home and focus on his mortality. And much like his birthday, I would plan something, and he would end up having fun despite himself. This year we were going to Disney.
We weren’t spooked by this transplantiversary – I just thought a decade warranted a Disney trip and an opportunity for him to pilot the Millennium Falcon.
I was the most spooked by his fifth transplantiversary – since the average lifespan post lung transplant is five years. It felt like pointing out to the universe we were out of time. Once we got past that, I just focused on the anecdotal stories of people living twenty years after a lung transplant, and didn’t count the days nervously.
On this day, I always tried to celebrate myself too. That seemed to help Eirik, and it was important for me to acknowledge that I took care of him those 7 months we waited on the transplant list – and the year following the transplant had its challenges too. For his first transplantiversary we had a big party. That was definitely for me – his idea of a good time was never a crowd of people.
I received a letter from donor services. His liver went to a woman in her 60s who lives in Utah. I wonder if she will crave expensive scotch or start cussing a lot more often. Eirik and I thought the whole “taking on the qualities of your donor” myth was creepy and stupid, but I can’t help but wonder. It’s incredibly surreal to think about his liver in Utah just doing stuff without me.
To celebrate today, I encourage people to register to donate their organs.
Or donate to COTA, as that continues to reimburse me for funeral and medical expenses.
Thank you for all the love and support.
God Bless you! And Rest in peace Eirik…