A Gifted Life

I’m going to die…

One day, hopefully not anytime soon. When I do, I hope I have the opportunity to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. This is exactly what I’ve been telling people when they ask me about my job.

Now that I’ve gotten you to read this far, let me introduce myself. My name is Crysta and I work for Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) as a Community Educator. The past 6 months have been nothing short of amazing. Every single day is absolutely eye opening. I knew what I was getting into, but it’s actually so much more than I could have ever imagined. I shed happy tears just about every day at work, and I’ve completely accepted the fact that I’m now a crier (and my mother made over).

My third day on the job, a coworker took me to lunch. There we met a double lung recipient and her husband. They paid for our lunch without asking or hesitating. They both thanked my coworker for all she has done for the mission and myself for what I will do. Her transplant allowed her to see her daughter turn into a mother; she now has 5 grandchildren. It was that moment that I knew I would be forever changed by this selfless mission.

My life isn’t the only one that has changed, either! My family and friends have latched onto the mission as well, but it definitely didn’t happen overnight. My mom is considering being a living donor to a complete stranger and my best friend has basically become a poster child for the mission; before I started, neither were registered donors.

Beyond that, I’ve attended so many great events and am looking forward to many more such as Regional Trainings, Clerks Colleges, Gift of Life 5K, Sista Strut and the list goes on. I encourage everyone to see what all these events are about and consider joining us!

I’m so thankful for the people surrounding me, especially those that gave the Gift of Life as well as their families. The title of this blog is in honor of them. Donor families and recipients remind all of us at KODA and TFL that we live a gifted life.

This website was a HUGE undertaking and I want to thank everyone who helped get it off the ground. Special shout out to Jennifer Griffin at Go Fetch Marketing for putting up with me for almost 6 months 🙂

Stay tuned to this blog for updates, more stories, videos and whatever else we can think of adding!