Digital postcard from Denver

Finding inspiration in the mile high city

Dino, the Sinclair dinosaur, welcomed us to the city.

This visit wasn't your typical “vacation” trip. I joined my daughter, Caitlin, and her boyfriend, Peter, who flew in from St. Louis.

Caitlin had been selected as an organ donor.

Her journey started in late January when one of her friends from high school posted about his sister's urgent need for a donor. Caitlin submitted the initial questionnaire and was an initial match.

At each step, Caitlin said yes.

Yes to helping a relative stranger.

Yes to stepping outside her comfort zone.

Yes to initial testing.

Yes to flying to Denver for additional testing.

Yes to having surgery to remove her left kidney.

Yes to six weeks of recovery.

Yes to living the rest of her life without a second kidney.

All those yeses added up to a healthy kidney wasting no time in going to work for a young woman with so much life now ahead of her.

The kidney is outperforming expectations so far. Given its donor, I'm not surprised.

The surgeon was able to remove the recipient's dialysis port while still in surgery, ending countless dialysis sessions that were barely making due.

Caitlin was able to meet her recipient the day following surgery. What an amazing experience to see firsthand the relief on her family's faces, the joy at the immediate improvement and the gratitude for Caitlin's decision to donate.

Caitlin has been hesitant with the platitudes coming her way. She didn't do it for the recognition. She did it so her friend would continue to have his younger sister. So his kids would know their aunt. She did it because she could make a difference.

On the wall in the transplant unit, there’s a plaque honoring donors with this quote:

Day after day, ordinary people become heroes through extraordinary and selfless actions to help their neighbors.

-Sylvia Mathews Burwell