Last week I wrote about how I’ve felt the presence of The Universe in the past couple of months, and how events unfolded that made me rethink how I want to live my life, what is my higher purpose and most importantly, can I ever get there?

You, my family, friends and avid readers who keep the muse inside me alive and wanting to write as much as she can know by now how my life was very literally saved by my sister Lakshmi, through the donation of her kidney.

Not a day goes by since then which is not filled with gratitude and respect for my sister. I have spent thirteen years asking myself if I would have been able to do the same, had the roles been reversed. In all honesty, I must say I have not been able to answer this question. I truly do not know if I would have had the courage to step up like she did.

This year, our family went through yet another medical crisis when our brother-in-law was diagnosed with kidney failure. Like my sister, my sister-in-law stepped up and offered to be tested as a possible match for her husband. Everything went to plan, and both recipient and donor are recovering well by the grace of God, The Universe, and the prayers and positive energy from a multitude of friends and family.

To avoid any risk of infection, my husband and I split the post-surgical care between us. Since the recipient is isolated for 3 days post surgery, we managed the donor’s care between us. He covered the daytime while I covered nights.

It was very gratifying for me to be on the other side of the hospital bed, as for the most part, it has always been the other way round where I’m undergoing a surgery and my family is taking care of me. I was thankful to be able to manage my schedule around the surgery dates and take leave from work for the time I was really needed. It was also the ultimate honor for me to get an opportunity to care for another donor.

What I was not prepared for is the emotional journey that this experience turned out to be. As a recipient myself, I never had the opportunity to take care of my own sister, as we both underwent surgery at the same time. My other sisters took care of both of us during this time.

Thirteen years later, it felt like life had come full circle for me.

Watching my sister-in-law go through the post-surgical pain and recovery was painful and cathartic at the same time. Every time I saw her in pain, I saw my sister. My gratitude and respect for my sister has never diminished over the years, but this experience was a great reinforcement of very literally what she and now my sister-in-law went through to give the gift of life to their loved ones. It felt like a strong message that I was going through this rare experience for a very specific purpose.

I truly felt The Universe was telling me to do more around donor awareness, to be an advocate and use my words to share as much as I could around this subject.

One of the doctors who was on shift duty during the days my sister-in-law was in the hospital said something that has really stuck with me. I was upset at the delay in settling the excruciating pain my sister-in-law was going through, unfortunately the cocktail of pain medication she was on was not quite working for her. While the team tried different things, I steadily began to get upset at their failed attempts. It was then that the doctor took a moment and spoke to me, and her words will resonate with me for life.

I would invite everyone reading this to pay due attention to these points she made, then read them again until it truly embeds into your psyche:

1. The donor is a perfectly healthy person when they opt to become a live organ donor
2. They are not a patient in any way, while the recipient is a patient and is expecting a cure to their kidney failure and so are mentally in an acceptance stage to go through whatever that treatment entails.
3. The donor on the other hand elects voluntarily to go through surgery, and to pump themselves full of medication, antibiotics, painkillers to undergo the surgery and manage the pain, infection risks post surgery. Voluntarily.
4. Even though their mental strength is ultimate when they go into surgery, nothing prepares them for the physical pain, discomfort, loss of mobility for the next few days and everything else that goes into undergoing surgery. The team does explain what is to come, but physically enduring it is a whole other thing.
5. Add to it the mental effects of literally parting with your own flesh. No matter how selfless a deed it is, the loss is very keenly felt, but it is offset by the recovery of the recipient and the satisfaction that comes with it.

Probably for the first time in my life, I was silenced by her words. While I continued to support my sister-in-law’s recovery for a few days after her discharge as well, I could not shake the feeling that I was meant to do much more.

When I came back from India, I reached out to my dear friend Sonali who helped me name my blog’s art section a few years ago. I loved how she came up with “Straight From My Art”, a name that encompassed all I wanted to say. I felt she was the right person to help me name this new section of my blog through which I would attempt to advocate for donors, spread organ donation awareness and write about these silent, unsung heroes who so selflessly and willingly undergo so much.

Sonali immediately caught on to my line of thought. The name of the section itself needed to be understated because it was the content that would shine. It wasn’t about me or my blog. It is and will always be about the live organ donor. That is who needs to shine the brightest through my words.

Thus, “Donor Diaries” was born.

This is a small, but significant first step towards what I hope will be a series of pieces celebrating the many live donors in the world. And through these stories, I hope to bring about much-needed awareness about live organ donation.

As the year draws to an end, my thoughts are slowly coming together and ending up on this piece. The Universe spoke to me this year and I hope, through this section and my actions and deeds in the years to come, im able to formulate a response in full measure. 

Here’s to a new year, a new beginning and a newfound sense of purpose.