The Results Are In!

I was able to give a survey to 50 people. I asked these people questions about their gender, age bracket, and questions about transplants like if they know someone who has had a transplant, if there were any problems and so on. When I calculated the results I found it interesting that the main group of people that knew someone that has had a transplant were about even in the gender category, but ranged between 17 and 25 mostly.

When I asked a question about if the person they knew that had had a transplant had any problems with it now or after the procedure about 85% said yes. Most of the time the people that were surveyed said it was because of the body rejecting the new organ or the medicine causing a lot of harsh problems. This was surprising to me because I felt like not very many people experienced problems with this procedure but this opened my eyes to how dangerous it really can be.

Although many of the people talked about the problems that occurred during or after the procedure, I then found out whether the person survived or not. Out of the 85% that had problems only about 5 of those people passed away eventually after getting the transplant. Transplants help save many peoples’ lives every day. Think about it, if it were not for the transplant in the first place then probably 100% of the people that were known by those who participated in the survey would have passed away a lot sooner than with the new organ helping to save their body.

Transplants are rough in the process but in the long run it really pays off. You get to continue living and being with your family a lot longer than without the new organ.

          

               With technology on the rise and many people getting ill, sometimes they have a problem with an organ and it shuts down and needs to be replaced. This procedure is possible but organ transplants can either be miracles or disasters. After interviewing people who have either received or had a family member that received an organ donation I was able to realize the true affects they can have on the person, as well as those around them.

                One woman I interviewed was the wife of an organ recipient. A man that was interviewed was a recipient. Many others that I spoke with were also in the same situation as these two individuals. The woman was very against the thought of anyone receiving a transplant, while the man was all for it. As I spoke longer during the interview I began to realize why they had such different perspectives on a situation that seemed to be the same.

                This woman’s husband had had a kidney transplant. The kidney was placed to help his body but shut down only a week later because it had been defective. He was able to receive another kidney shortly after. The medicines he had to take for his body to accept the new kidney were “like taking a medicine to poison his body and put him in excruciating pain.” He died shortly after because the kidney had been rejected and the medicine was shutting other things down. She was left to raise her two children by herself.

                The other man had also received a kidney transplant. Although, he was lucky enough to survive through the pain and medication and his body was able to accept the organ. He was able to see his children and someday maybe his grandchildren.

                The affects of organ transplants are a big deal. Would you be willing to receive a transplant and take a horrifying medication if it were your only choice?

The Dock of Despair

The water crashes over the rocks when the waves come in. The fishermen reel in their poles with hopes of a fish attached to their hooks. The sky is so lovely above and the wilderness around is full of pine trees and flowers, birds singing songs, squirrels gathering food and many more beautiful things. While surrounded by all of this beauty, you then arrive at the community boat dock. This dock has been in the Rancho McRae community in Island Park, Idaho for as long as I can remember. The wood is peeling, the color fading, there are weeds growing between the cracks. As time has gone by, this dock has aged as well and become worn and tattered. Footsteps make the dock creak and sway back and forth so it is unstable. It is an unsafe place to be and needs to be taken care of or replaced. The price may seem outrageous at the time but it could be a helping tool to save someone from getting hurt in the future.

The boat dock of Rancho McRae needs to be replaced. One step on it and a young child or even an adult could fall off of it into the water. This could result in a bigger problem than the community of Rancho McRae needs. Many may say that it is the fault of the parents for not watching their children close enough or the fault of the child for messing around on the dock when in reality it was just a simple step to an injury from the dock.

When I was seven years old, I walked on this boat dock with my grandfather as we were trying to put gas in our boat because it had ran out and our cabin’s dock was too far away. When he took a step back, my foot slipped through a slit in the boat dock and a rusty nail was sticking out between the boards and cut my leg open to the bone. I was then rushed to the hospital in an ambulance because I had lost so much blood that I began to go into shock and stop breathing. Shortly after four other children in the community were taken to the hospital for injuries that occurred from the unsafe boat dock of Rancho McRae. Since that day many children who have cabins in this community have also gotten cuts and bruises from this boat dock. Most which have also resulted in visits to the hospital or clinic.  

The next question on your mind may be how will the community council of Rancho McRae be able to afford a project like this with the economy in such a bad situation at the moment. The council could ask community members for a small amount of money each month to go into a fund for the new dock and act as a fundraiser to help improve the community and allow for residents to feel like they helped contribute to solving the problem that is at hand. Others who cannot afford to put money towards a new dock may be willing to volunteer hours to help replace the old one in a month where the water is low enough to let the wood dry out and make it easier to move.

Isn’t it time to protect the youth from getting hurt and fix the problem? Many may say that you shouldn’t fix something that has been around for as long as the community has been there. Think about it, things are changing all the time to updated and safer equipment. It is time to create a dock that will be safer and more user friendly for the people of Rancho McRae. This will draw more people to use the dock for recreation because it will be a safer place to enjoy with the family or alone.

Rancho McRae is a place for people to go, relax, and enjoy themselves. The early morning fisherman wants to be able to fish right at dawn and not have to worry about whether or not he will fall through the dock or tip it over from being unsteady. This community would get more fishers to go on the dock if the circumstances changed and they didn’t have to worry about this. People would be more pleased and enjoy themselves more if the dock problem was taken and made into a user friendly, safe place to be. This one new addition would create a safe environment for the visitors and residents of Rancho McRae. It would protect people from getting injured. It would allow for a nice summer vacation, to stay a nice summer vacation without any problems or concerns.