humanitiesoct27--la:Layout 1 CMAJ • OCTOBER 27, 2009 • 181(9) © 2009 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors 619 Humanities Which cemetery? Who has to be notified? The decisions were endless. The first question that should be asked, the first of those many decisions to make should be: Would your loved one have wanted to be a tissue donor? Coincidentally, Brad and I had dis- cussed donation shortly before his death. I asked him if he would want to be listed as a donor. “Absolutely,” he said, and gave me that easy smile of his. “Mom,” he said, gesturing to his body, “this is only a rental.” I cannot describe the comfort of knowing that my son’s eyes continue to see the world, although through a different lens. The games of rugby he so loved to play will continue with the gift of tendons into another ath- lete or weekend warrior. Heart valves will save the life of a child with a heart defect. The gift of organ and tissue dona- tion can give another dimension of meaning to a life too briefly lived: a n e w b o r n b a b y , a p r e s c h o o l e r , a teenager. It gave my family comfort, a n d y e s , t h e g i f t o f a l e g a c y f o r Brad’s life, and a source of comfort to a grieving mother and a devastated family. Brad gave so much in life and to life and I want him to be remembered. Not the tragedy that was his death, but the gift that was his life. Through the privi- lege of donation, it was a gift that we shared with others, when his heart could no longer beat. Our lives were incredibly enriched by Brad’s life and love. It is my belief that in the lives of those transplant recipients, as they go on to live and love, there is a legacy. And when they laugh, I’m sure there is an echo to Brad’s spirit. And he is smiling. Denice Klavano Mother Halifax, NS Ms. Klavano is the certified tissue bank specialist at the Regional Tissue Bank, Capital District Health Authority in Halifax, NS. She collected her first scar as a child. A careless uncle stepped on her pinky, Pressing it into a permanent but gentle hook. Scalding water and burning pans have thickened skin, dulled nerves. We screamed in the bathtub, feet on fire Her hands swirling in lava, coaxing us. Her joints are swelled, hard now. The wedding solitaire sleeps in its velvet crevice; she took it off before it strangled her. Its replacement, with clustered sapphires, a spider’s cataracts, shines dully from caked Ivory soap. Now her thumbs hook the steering wheel. The fingers hang in involuntary curves, scalloped and pink, pointing rudely to the pedals and feet that have forgotten which way to push. Lydia Kang MD General internal medicine University of Nebraska Medical Center Nebraska, USA Poem They were beautiful once © 2 0 0 9 J u p it e ri m a g e s C o rp . 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