BROWN: Thank you organ donors for helping save lives

Published 11:23 am Tuesday, December 17, 2024

I have been writing Christmas stories for more years than I can count, and each year I begin composing the new column weeks ahead of the deadline. It is my intention to complete it in time to contemplate the contents and submit it for publication to the newspapers in time for the holiday editions.

At the Stewart Webster Journal, published in my hometown, they reprint past columns each week in December so the readers can remember the history of my years of writing. I hope it helps get the readers in the Christmas spirit by recalling their personal holiday memories of days gone by.

Using comments from the readers of The Union Recorder here in Milledgeville and Baldwin County, some of their favorite columns are about the vintage decorations used at my childhood home on Nicholson Street in Richland. As I have mentioned in previous columns, our momma was an artist, so she always decorated our house with the latest fashion and finished our beautiful Christmas trees with perfection.

In those days we had a live tree, and it was Daddy’s responsibility to locate the tree, deliver it to the living room and set it up in the sturdy red and green colored metal tree stand. Sometimes the most difficult job was securing the tree in the stand so it stood secure and upright.

The attractive wrapping paper was adorned with matching bows. Momma hand-tied the colorful decorations and used various ribbons, some that could be curled and draped. The name tags were even creative. She fashioned them from vibrant paper and her distinct cursive handwriting was a beautiful addition.

Our parents grew up with scant money to spend, and they were determined to provide our little family of four with the best life they could afford. They made holidays special, taught us right from wrong, good manners, to tell the truth and be grateful for our blessings.

We had no way of knowing that within a few years, Momma was going to become ill with an undiagnosed condition that would end her life at age 44. We also never guessed that possibly the same condition, NASH, would years later, nearly end the lives of my two grown sons. If not for the generosity of organ donors, incurable liver disease would have ended their lives.

So, our family wants to take this opportunity to thank those who made the decision to save lives. During the holidays, we can gather together and enjoy our Christmas traditions because of the decision of someone that we will never be able to personally thank.

If you are a registered organ donor, thank you for your generosity. If you are not an organ donor, please consider giving the gift of life once your time here on earth has ended. YOU can donate the gift of life, one of the most life-changing decisions you can ever make.

Our family celebrates the birth of Jesus, and we wish your family a happy holiday season. May God bless you all.

For more information on organ donation, visit https://unos.org