Page 46 - Humanism 2019
P. 46
looked like were from Christmas morning, with smiling weaknesses, and all the prejudice against my fellow
faces of them and their families. Other pictures showed man.
them doing fun things while they were in their elder years,
like holding up one big catch from a fishing trip, riding Give my sins to the devil.
bikes down the driveway, or sitting at a table holding one Give my soul to God.
of their grandchildren.
If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a
At the conclusion of the slideshow, Mr. Gaddini opened kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you
the floor for the friends and family members who came do all I have asked, I will live forever.
for the memorial service. Others could not attend the
After reflections had concluded, Mackenzie Murphy, the
memorial service but sent reflections of their own to be
class vice-president, offered closing remarks for the
read aloud by students:
ceremony.
“He was drafted into the Army nine months after
graduating from Willamina High School, where he had “Life is the single most precious gift we will ever receive.
learned to buck and fall timber at the young age of 16 Having the opportunity to be here, existing alongside
during the summers. Then had worked in the shipyards in each of you, is a blessing, to put it simply. Everything else
Portland until drafted. in life is just a bonus. If we are lucky, we will have the
opportunity to make choices for ourselves, build a life and
“After a short time in the States, after being drafted, he leave behind a legacy. However, regardless of background,
was sent to England to unload supplies before the in this precious life, only one thing is certain: that we will
European invasion, then landed the second day of D-Day eventually give back that gift and pass soundly out of this
on Normandy Beach, where he stayed for five and a half world.
months, unloading supplies on the beach for the invasion.
“My donor patient had a wondrous grasp on what life
“Then was sent to Antwerp Belgium where supplies were had given to her, and now she has handed me that gift of
then sent. He was attending a theater in his off duty, life. Every time I entered the lab to work with her, along
which was hit dead center with a German V2 rocket. The with every other donor patient, I came alive. She had
buddies on both sides of him were killed and he was quite literally been my first patient, and she has taught me
buried under rubble for 12 hours. His only injury was a so much. Not only about medicine, but about myself:
severed nerve in his back which effected his leg and he discipline, attention to detail, patience, tenderness, and
recovered quite soon. perseverance. The unselfishness that my donor patient,
along with every other donor patient showed when
“He was sent home to an Army hospital and from there
attended Oregon State College, where I met him. He had making the choice to donate their bodies to help fuel our
a car down at Corvallis and I was needing a ride home. passion and education is unmatched. Being here today
We connected through a friend and he kept taking me with the loved ones of these individuals is an honor I can
home on weekends for about nine months. Then we got hardly put into words. From myself, and the rest of the
married.” COMP-Northwest class of 2022, Thank You, from the
bottom of our hearts, for choosing to give us your gift.”
Others sent in poems to be read, such as To Remember
Me, by Robert Noel Test: A memorial service normally celebrates the long, winding
path people take and the many corners of this world
Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, they’ve been to, and brings together the lives of those they
a baby’s face, or love in the eyes of a woman. touched before they passed. This donor patient memorial
celebrates the path they took after they passed. It brings
Give my heart to a person whose heart has caused
together those they touched before they passed and after.
nothing but endless days of pain.
It shows everyone the lives they lived before finally
Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the closing their eyes, and the people they’ve helped after
wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his those eyes stayed closed. n
grandchildren play.
Photos taken at various Donor Patient Memorials: Photos from the
WesternU Pomona campus by Jeff Malet, Multimedia Manager,
Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to
WesternU Public Affairs and Marketing, and photos from WesternU
exist from week to week. Lebanon campus by Luke Rauch, Luke Rauch, Recruiter and Project
Manager.
Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber, and nerve in
my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.
If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my
43 HUMANISM IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES 2019 • VOL. 22
