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Carmen was 28 years old when she passed away. She was diagnosed at two with cystic fibrosis.
She had it from birth and we ultimately knew, somewhere along the way, that she would probably
need a lung transplant. When she was put on a transplant list she was told that she would
only have to wait about a year from that point in time. Well, it got to be two years and
we still didn't have anything. She got ill. We remained in the hospital for almost eight
weeks, waiting for her to receive a transplant when no donor was available. She ran out of
time. Waiting for an organ is probably one of the hardest things that I've had to experience
with my daughter. Everyday was just a wait. Carmen would sit there and say "Well, another
day. We'll see what comes tomorrow. See where the lungs are tomorrow" She had the tubes
in her throat, she couldn't speak, but she spelled out on her board. She looked around
and said "all this and still no lungs?" It's hard to see someone you love suffering. It's
hard to wonder if there's something available when no one's donating, and you wish that
you could make a difference but you know at that point and time there is not much you
can do. I don't think it takes long for you to decide if you want to be a donor if you
know somebody like Carmen. If you know that you could help somebody like Carmen.