Legacy

“I’m just a living legacy. To the leader of the band.”

Dan Fogelberg, “Leader Of The Band”

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Recently, I posted a  different quote about “Legacy” ….. which was –

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”

This quote really has stayed with me for a number of days. As I thought about it, I wondered what “legacy” I might leave …. and I guess I’ll never know. My family might know after I’m gone, but who knows if I’ll know or not.

What is humbling to me ….. what brings tears to my eyes when I think about it …… is that I am here, I am alive, because of the legacy of some anonymous person to whom I’ll always and forever be grateful. That person would be my heart donor, without whom, I would not have survived. I am a living legacy to that heroic person.

I don’t think one can go through a transplant and not be impacted emotionally …. spiritually …… and be filled with never ending, never ceasing gratitude. And not only for my hero, my donor …. but also for his or her family, and I send them my love, my hope, my faith and my prayers each day.

While I don’t know the story of my donor’s life, I will share that this person was filled with love …. and gave it freely each and every day. My heart knows that!

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”

~ Shannon L Alder