Never Say Never

If you read my first post, you know that my intent for this chat is to talk to random people about their tattoo and the story behind it.  I had a couple of people in mind to be the first interview but on April 21, 2021, a life changing event happened that directed me in a different direction for the first interview for TatChatwithKat. 

I got the call the evening of Sunday, April 18^th that my sister, TT, was in a coma and on life support with little hope of making a turn around.  I made arrangements and arrived in Florida on the morning of the 20^th.  TT, my little, and only, sister, laid there in the hospital bed, hooked up to what seemed to be thousands of machines.  She was on life support, not breathing with no brain function.  She was non-responsive.  They would perform additional tests on the morning of the 21^st to evaluate her situation but they were not encouraging.

That morning, they stopped the breathing machine for 8 minutes to see is she would, by chance, breathe on her own.  The other test performed is to check her responses to see if there was any brain activity.  This test consisted of opening her eyes and pouring cold water in them.  People that have brain activity will freak out by this……  but, nothing from my sister. This was very difficult to watch but I would not trade that moment for anything in this world.  As I watched my world and the world around me change, right there in that small hospital room, I knew that my sister was gone.  The doctor pronounced my sister legally dead at 11:42am on Wednesday, April the 21^st.  She was 42 years young.

What I didn’t realize was that she was an organ donor.  Wow, I never knew!  The key with this process is to keep her organs alive while they confirmed what organs she could donate and then, find recipients that match to her donatable organs.  I will be honest; I didn’t have much hope that her organs would be able to be donated due to some of her life choices.  As she laid there looking like she could wake up at any minute, they worked to get her organs tested and move to the step of finding matches of her donated organs.  We prayed that some of her organs would be able to save a life.  I didn’t know a lot about the organ donation process but found out, it’s rare that matches are found in a timely manner.  The organs do not last that long and must be used with in just a few hours and days.  The search was on and time was of the essences.  Her body and organs would go through many, many tests.  They also kept her fed, breathing, etc. This is done so the organs in good condition until all the databases could be searched for recipients.  I will tell you; those days were touch and go.  I had lost my sister but also the stress of keeping her body alive while you just wait was like something you see on TV….  It was crazy.

As they got her body ready for tests, they came in and did a full body evaluation.  Height, weight, etc.  They discovered that she had tattoos and they were amazed.  I helped them take inventory of her tattoos.  Many, I had never seen before. She was addicted to tattoos, she had them everywhere.  After all the inventory, the nurse made a final count.  My sister had 26 tattoos 😊…  Wow, I knew she had a lot but had no idea that she had that many.  On the afternoon of 4-21-21, as I was sitting holding her hand in a quiet hospital room, I told her not to worry about tat #27, I had that one covered.

My sister was a hero to me!  On Friday, the 23^rd, my sister was able to donate one of her kidneys and her liver, to a man in Cincinnati.  This man needed both organs and his doctors told him, he had a one in two million chance of getting both to save his life.  The miracle in all of this is that man was the son-in-law of a friend of my aunt’s.  My sister went into surgery at 10pm to review her two kidneys and her liver.  By 3am, that same morning, the man in Cincinnati had her liver and kidney.  Chills run down my spine every time I tell this story.  Her other kidney was also donated.  What a hero, my sister was able to give life through her death. 

So, long story short, my first interviewee for my chat is myself!  The tat is of a butterfly: butterflies were TT’s favorite.  She had butterfly figures, clothes with butterflies, and our course a tattoo.  I debated about what word to get to go with the butterfly.  Words that I considered that were very fitting were hero and hope.  But chose “Sis”…  That was her word for me.  Every time we talked and ended a conversation, she would always say “hey sis or love you sis”.   😊  I can hear her voice now calling me Sis.  Why did I choose the left hand, bottom side of the wrist?  I wanted to see it, all the time and anytime.  I am right-handed so I knew that if I was working on the computer or writing, all I had to do was to turn over my left hand and there it is, for ME.    I wanted to be reminded of her and the hero she was.  I love looking at the tattoo and remembering the promise that I made to her.  I love the tattoo and maybe there will be a #28?  Hmmm, I’m not sure but “never say never”. 

Thanks for Chatting,

Kat

TatChatwithKat is dedicated to my sister, TT