Thanks for visiting “Life and Random Thinking”
My name is David and I was inspired to begin this blog post by my Aunt Elinore. She made so many friends online and she would have loved to have seen how many friends I have made via this blog.
Frankly it has been an unexpected pleasure thanks to the readers who visit, comment and encourage me to continue.
Today I had an errand and drove north up the Okanagan valley and returned a few hours later. When I left about 7:30 a.m. it was about ten minutes before sunrise. The Okanagan lake stretched out calm and reflective in the pre-dawn. I spotted three beautiful trumpeter swans near the shoreline.
Later today on my return trip home I stopped and took a few pictures in Peachland (it’s a real place). I will post below a few pictures I took there looking south.
Then I drove past Summerland (another real place) and back home to Penticton ( Penticton, from the Interior Salish word snpintktn, is commonly translated as “a place to stay forever,” or more accurately, “a place where people live year-round.” )
Just past Peachland I looked up the hillside and spotted two bald eagles, and they sat close together on adjacent branches.
I felt very fortunate that I had looked up there at that perfect moment to see them there, what a gift ♥
Speaking of gifts – I was given the gift of a kidney transplant via a live donor in April 2019. An amazing wonderful gift and now almost 50% of kidney transplant patients are from live donors.
I had a previous successful transplant from a deceased donor that I was also very grateful to receive – that transplant lasted 31 years.
I hope that everyone who reads will consider signing up to be a donor, it takes two minutes to sign up and don’t wait.
I want to share below a video to explain what being an organ donor means and what happens if you do choose to be one. ! (the video is two minutes and seventeen seconds)
Pretty please watch and consider being a donor – plus it is fact that each of us is much more likely to be in need of a transplant than to actually be a donor.
Thanks again for visiting – David ♥
How It Works – A Video about being an Organ Donor – from BC Transplant
Life and Random Thinking 
Elinore 🙂
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♥♥♥
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mea culpa
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Our whole family is on the organ donor list.
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That’s awesome, I can’t say for certain in my family. Bless you and may you all live long healthy lives and never need a transplant. ♥
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Good, informative video–especially the part about talking to family about it. End of life discussions are hard for everyone involved. I can’t speak for other states in the U.S., but in both New Mexico and Oklahoma, you are asked when you get your driver’s license if you want to be an organ donor and it is marked on your driver’s license. My husband and I are both potential donors. I am so thankful, as is your family, that you were matched up with a donor–not once, but twice. God has blessed you in so many ways.
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Actually thrice but I try not to think about the five months in 1986 when I was hospitalized, and my three room mates in the renal ward who all died after their transplants. I had another miracle that year. Thank you Linda for watching the video and for your lovely comment. I smiled and agreed, yes I am blessed. Even as I travel daily for cancer treatments now I feel so blessed to be here and to have the family I have.
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You have had more difficulties than I can imagine. What a past medical history! I know about your current challenge, but didn’t realize that you are getting treatments daily. I will pray that they go well and are successful. May God bless you in the coming year, and may you continue to find the good around you and share it!
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Thank you Linda (hug). First week over now, three weeks to go and I have weekends off. The people are all very nice there especially the ladies who greet me when I enter. I think the treatments are going well, and the nice greeters are checking out my Skywalker posts – how nice is that ! I have been stopping at Peachland on the routine trip and watching for the swans also. I only see them on Okanagan lake. I appreciate your encouragement and truthfully I feel quite joyful despite circumstances. It’s all the nice people. ♥♥
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Hi David,
Such a great post!
I am grateful to count you as a friend here ♥
A lot of great information here and what a blessing organ donor programs are.
Great pictures as usual! Your son is a great model! 🙂
Blessings to you! ♥♥
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Thank you for your comment. I smile warmly every time I read your comments. ♥
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What beautiful photos today David, I just love the eagle shot. What a cute name for a place as well. Peachland, yum. 😉
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Yes I love the names of some of the cities in the valley like Summerland and Peachland. Penticton means A Place To Live Forever in the indigenous language. Oh and my dear friend who donated me a kidney lives on Happy Valley Road in Summerland – sounds unbelievable LOL. Thanks Sandra for commenting.
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