It is an old joke: "I used to be in good shape. Then I started running." During the past six days, I have been told as I am leaving to "Take care!" by friends, family, and strangers I stop to chat with. They understand that walking 15 miles a day is hard on a body, from the pressure on feet and joints to the genuine opportunity for sunstroke in 90-degree heat. They also know there are risks on highways and byways--not always dramatic, life-threatening ones, but risks that could endanger my safety or the continuation of the journey. As I meandered from Sheridan's Biddle Park to Starbucks at Carmel's Clay Terrace (15.4 miles!) via unexpected detours (such as county roads and the cart path of a golf course) today, I thought about the many meanings "take care" might have.
The first is obvious. To prepare for an event like this journey, one has to "take care" to plan, to purchase the right equipment, to train (I sort of learned my lesson from that last mini-marathon), to make a back-up plan just in case, and to have a means to communicate the event and what it signifies. Anyone who has ever set out on an adventure has done some "taking care" regarding logistics and equipment--and then has likely learned that additional care must be taken when all of those plans hit a snag, such as when a trail that is marked as complete on a county map has, in reality, a "Trail Ends" sign on one side of the road and three men in high-vis vests and hardhats on the other side, standing next to a man on a backhoe dropping gravel into the trail-sized trench leading to the rest of the map. Today, that snag led to additional opportunities to take another kind of care regarding safety when I was walking not on trails as planned but out on county roads without a map or any reconnaissance on the number and size of dogs in the area. It required constant scanning of the area, frequent checking of the location of Milkbones in my pockets, and some decisions regarding whether I would jump in the knee-high weeds on the side facing traffic or move to the wider berth on the other, knowing that any traffic would be coming up behind me, and likely at a high rate of speed way out there in the country. I most definitely took care just outside Hortonville; I heard from a half mile away very robust and angry barking at the trash truck doing its thing. (Thank goodness the only dogs to get the Milkbones today were my niece's two dachshunds, who don't really like me very much.)
When folks tell me to "take care," they often add "of yourself." They might mean they want me to be able to deal with potential physical danger, for which the proper response might be "I carry a can of pepper spray and a hiking pole with a pointy end. I also get so sweaty that no sane person would dare venture too close." But when I think of the significance of this journey, honoring Julian and raising organ donation awareness, I consider "taking care of yourself" in a literal context regarding how I go about promoting personal health and well being. I always tell my Medical Terminology students that they want to put themselves in a position to be a donor rather than a recipient. I remind them that the choices they make regarding diet, exercise, and extracurricular activities (I'm not talking about band here) are often cumulative, taking a long time to have a disastrous effect but having that effect nonetheless. Here comes the research paper part, but please don't skip it: according to the American Diabetes Association, "approximately 738,000 people in Indiana, or 13.7% of the adult population, have diabetes.... In addition, 1,719,000 people in Indiana, 35.6% of the adult population, have prediabetes with blood glucose levels higher than normal" (http://main.diabetes.org/dorg/assets/pdfs/advocacy/state-fact-sheets/Indiana2018.pdf). Additionally, approximately a third of Indiana adults have been told by a healthcare provider that they have high blood pressure (https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Hypertension/state/IN). Diabetes and high blood pressure are two main causes of kidney failure, and they also put all organs at risk. The math works out to this: "nearly 1500 Hoosiers and more than 115,000 people nationwide" are waiting for organ transplants
https://indianadonornetwork.org/gift-life-learning-center/donation-faqs/.
Many people think I am in excellent shape, especially if I can walk 15 miles a day. The truth is that I am in better shape than I was last week, if you don't count the blisters and the thigh muscle strain and the tape rash. But I also struggle with post-menopausal weight gain, hypothyroidism, elevated triglyceride levels, and stress that increases my blood pressure. You might laugh when I tell you I don't exercise as much as I should, that I also like lounging on the couch, and I sit too much--but all of that is true. I may one day be a candidate for an organ transplant not because I have one kidney but because of cumulative effects of my diet (I do love carbs and sugar), my desk sitting/television watching, my stress, and my family history of both diabetes and high blood pressure issues. Like all humans, I am not very good at changing my habits, even when I would like to. So I'm giving myself (and you, if you choose) some homework:
1. Gather your very best close personal friends and/or your close family members.
2. Prepare your favorite meal or snack or drink. Grill those steaks, have that proper
afternoon tea, open that bottle of cabernet, make that Bananas Foster--
whatever you like best.
3. As you are enjoying the food, start the conversation by sharing these important bits of information (and take notes, please): your blood type (if you don't know, your doctor or the folks who take your blood at a blood drive can tell you); your
list of current and previous health conditions/surgeries (most people love to talk about their health conditions, so this is an easy assignment); medications you are taking, including herbal supplements; concerns or questions you have about being an organ donor.
I think it is important for my students to know why they are doing an assignment. The purpose for this one may already be clear: if you need an organ transplant, these are the people most likely to volunteer. Knowing these important bits of information starts the process toward that potential donation. Your group will know who matches whose blood type, the first critical step. You will also know who might be ruled out by cancer (though some types are allowable) or serious disorders that can be passed on. You will have a ready list of medications, which is always handy. And most importantly, you can share with your best friends and family what scares you about donating or receiving an organ, what questions you have, and whether you would be concerned about your own future health should you donate. Here's something to consider: if your child or your parent or your very best friend needed an organ, you wouldn't hesitate. Why not start that process now and make a celebration of it with your nearest and dearest?
In my classes, there is always one more step to an assignment--application. In this case, that would be registering with the Indiana Donor Network (https://indianadonornetwork.org/). It takes only a minute, and then your team of potential donor candidates is all in place. Should the time come, you'll know where to look for assistance, and you won't even have to ask. Wouldn't that be a fabulous gift to give the people who mean the most to you?
It's 90 miles done, 10 to go. Tomorrow, I'll be starting pretty much where I finished, walking the Monon to St. Vincent's to meet the transplant team and to celebrate Julian's legacy. Some very special people will be walking with me. Why not join us?
