My Papa
In Oklahoma, heritage runs deep, deeper than most states. In order for those stories and ideas to continue is for those older family members must survive and be around to teach the younger generations. I am an extremely fortunate young lady because I have had the privilege to know two of my great-grandparents. I didn’t just know of them, meaning that I happened to be born while they were still alive, I actually knew them. So it is very easy to say that the family heritage runs deep in my family. Without the Oklahoma Blood Institute and many prayers, my grandfather would have not gotten to attend my high school graduation or been here to fix my vehicle when I have no idea what is wrong with it.
My grandfather, known as Papa by every single grandchild and great-grandchild which has been his name since his first grandchild was born. On this side of the family my Papa’s uncles and his son died of unknown causes, respiratory or stomach issues was the speculation of the doctors. No one was really sure what the cause was because the deaths were extremely sudden .A possible reason to why they died was not made until my Papa went into liver failure, after living a life seemingly healthy life. They discovered he had a deficiency in Alpha-1 antitrypsin; a deficiency which affects both the liver and the lungs. They believe this might be the reason for the deaths of the other family members that died of unknown causes. He was put on the transplant list and in March of 2004 he was given a new liver. I do not remember a whole lot about this situation. I was 7 years old at the time, but I do know what happened since we had many family discussions about it. We thought everything was going to be alright. If we only knew that this was only the beginning of a very long journey.
All seemed to be going well. He went back to the farm and took it easy, making sure he took his medicine. He was very careful to not be out in the cold or be around sick people so he wouldn’t get sick as well, since that might compromise his new liver. Everything was fine until he got a fever. He called into the doctor and they asked him to come in so they could make sure everything was going okay. They did their tests and my Papa didn’t come home for several more months. They discovered he was rejecting his liver. This was in July of 2006. He had to have many more tests done. Still being a young girl, I didn’t visit him too often while he was there in the hospital. When we did go visit Papa I just remember him not looking like my Papa. He looked weak and sad. He was connected to all sorts of tubes and such, looking quite strange in my young mind. While he was there he had to have a procedure done called a plasma exchange, which replaced all his red blood cells, and without this procedure my Papa would not have lived. We actually held a blood drive in his name while all this was going on. I can never thank those people enough, nor the workers of the Oklahoma Blood Institute for giving my Papa another chance.
After this happened, it became very important to my family to donate to the Oklahoma Blood Institute whenever we could. I was getting closer to being sixteen, six years after my Papa’s rejection, and my parents began to question me on whether I would start to try to donate. I told them flatly “no,” several times in fact. I was scared of needles. I cried at my booster Tetanus shot later that year, so I definitely had a problem. My mom tried desperately to explain to me that giving blood could help other families, just like my own. It didn’t work very well at all. I didn’t seriously consider donating blood until the summer before my senior year in high school. I found out about the green cord program. Being a competitive person, I wanted to gain that honor of donating the seven required times. This was my incentive to start donating. Since then I have donated many more times, and have gotten over my fear of needles. I intend to donate anytime I can to do what my mother said and help other families just like my own.
Something that seems so small can have such a great impact on someone’s life. The blood it took to save my Papa’s life is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but to my family it was the world. I love my Papa so much. He is such a wonderful person in so many ways, and I cannot imagine growing up without him. I am so glad that those few people donated their time and their own blood to help someone else, and that someone else was my Papa. A world without him would be a very dull, sad world.
This picture is of me and my Papa shortly after my high school graduation when we got to take a summer vacation to South Dakota. I rode in his car all the way there and back. We were able to discuss all sorts of things like politics, music, our faith, and the beautiful scenery. I am so glad I was able to experience this trip with him.