Strangers in time

Mark T (which one?)

As a kid my mother’s words, “Never talk to strangers.” were ominous; talk of kidnappings, press-gangs and murder was a sure deterrent.

In June of 2009 I was shocked. At some juncture I had met a stranger, but no word was ever spoken so I was safe, or was I?

It was like an encounter with a pickpocket; the stealth is only noticed later when you get home and exclaim, “Oh! No My wallet has gone.” There was never a moment when I could say “Ah, that was it.” so I am left guessing as to when, where and how it happened. The rascal left a so-called calling card behind, but not one I could ever have imagined. It was invisible. It left me breathless.

The iffy ECG was the journey’s beginning. A week later after enduring many tests the cardiologist told me “ You have Congestive Heart Failure or CHF. We don’t know why. The tests are clean. We can only think that a virus has weakened your heart muscle.”

A virus with no name. A stranger. “Oh! No.”

It took six years for CHF to run its course. The heart cannot repair itself like other muscles and has to work harder to maintain its function. Medications helped but eventually they couldn’t help a weakened heart. Edema was a sure sign of that, leaving me breathless.

In January 2014 these prompting words came from the cardiologist in the Netherlands where I was working at the time, “You should stop working. You need a heart transplant.”

I returned home to Toronto as soon as I could.

Fast forward to March 2015. After many, many more tests and protocols I was in hospital, dealing with edema again, when by chance another stranger crossed my path, just in time. No words could ever be spoken, and unlike that pickpocket with a so-called calling card this stranger left their heart for my wellbeing. A giving of life; so unselfish, so humane and so unconditional.

How could I thank this stranger for their gift if they were no longer present?

Talk – about that gift of life.

Do we not always say that giving is better than receiving?

Leave your organs behind for strangers, and know they will think of you, thank you.

#Heart