Wanted: Humans with Compassion

Commentary Editor

   As I read the article entitled "Atlanta Girl Gets Kidney From Stranger" on  The Washington Post Web site, I couldn’t help but become emotional at the thought of an unknown person’s selfless contribution to the lengthening of another person’s life.

   The 8-year-old girl in the article, Sarah Dickman, was placed on an organ waiting list in September when her health started declining. From what I’ve heard, a doctor determines if a patient is in need of an organ based on their health and placed on a list among other unhealthy patients to await a possible match based on certain criteria. Her parents were not a match for the kidney transplant; so, in desperation, they made up fliers to distribute.

   I cannot personally fathom the grief the parents felt as they watched their little girl get sicker and sicker without any expectations of seeing their daughter experience her childhood without being hooked to dialysis. Her prognosis left a dream of a Sweet 16 birthday bash cut short. I can, however, understand the lengths a parent would go to save their child’s life. I’m certain they felt as if they were grasping at straws by distributing the fliers, but in this case, buying a billboard sign pleading for help was feasible.

   Tears streamed down my face because, being a parent, I am thankful my children, so far, have been healthy. Yet at the same time I think about all the other children who are patiently still waiting or have died because no match could be found.

   Sarah, the little girl in need of a kidney, received a second chance to play dress-up like all the other girls her age when a stranger by the name of Laura Bolan saw the flier at her children’s school and stepped up to the plate to save this child’s life.

   What other gift can a human give that could surpass this woman’s unselfish donation, and why don’t others make an attempt to help? Heck, I can’t personally bear to watch a St. Jude’s commercial without a box of tissue nearby and those commercials showing children over seas with bloated tummies haunt my dreams at night. Am I the only one who feels compassion toward humankind?

   I guess someone wouldn’t understand Bolan’s sympathetic offer unless they had a child or experienced the unnecessary death of a loved one. As if any death is necessary when it comes to someone you love, but some deaths can be prevented. Even if the prevention of death causes one to spend a couple dollars a month or get a simple blood test, if it were my child, I would expect someone to sacrifice a few simple things in order to save my child's life. I encourage everyone to reach inside themselves and pull out a tad bit of kindheartedness in order to help humanity.

   Consider this:  People in disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, or people in need of life-saving blood due to a wreck caused by a drunk driver depend on The American Red Cross. Your family member may be diagnosed with some type of cancer. The American Cancer Society is in need of money for research in order to find a cure. If you don’t already, one day you may want to have a child. The March of Dimes needs help in preventing birth defects and prematurity.

   There are so many organizations formed for the prevention of heartache, and most people do not realize their importance until they are faced with an issue that requires the kindness and sympathy of others in their society. My thoughts are if you give, you are bound to get something in return, even if it’s simply the knowledge you made a difference.  However, Albert Einstein’s eloquent quote on compassion definitely surpasses my elementary explanation:

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

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