No humour this week. Our young kitten Gorby was unfortunately run over on Friday night.
Although only with us for four months, the bond he made with us was incredibly strong.
It hurts as we walk through the house, for each room and piece of furniture holds memories of his playing, hiding and sleeping. Even writing this is painful, as he always came to see what we were doing on the computer, often rolling on to the keyboard and trying to swipe the display as the cursor moved.
Click on link below for youtube link of Gorby playing.
Gorby playing with a Mouse Feb 2012
To some people the death of a pet must seem trivial, especially compared to the daily suffering we see in the world today; the Japanese Tsunami, Christchurch earthquake, the daily ongoing slaughter in Syria, and closer to home when you hear of an accidental death on your local news.
However we welcome into our hearts these companions warmly into our lives. We feed them, talk to them, teach them, provide shelter, warmth and security, so that they do become part of your family. They do not criticize, or argue back, don't have bad moods and their love is unconditional.
As a couple with no children we are especially attached to our animals, as regular readers of my blog and Facebook followers will know.
Last year we lost Bagpuss our cat of 19 years, and were again stunned at his loss. However he was very old, quite frail and his passing was somewhat expected at some point. This feels different, for Gorby was only five months old, four of which he had spent with us. He had his whole life ahead of him. At least his passing was swift and he would not have known anything. He did have a good, happy, if short life, and we are honoured that he choose to share it with us.
This loss made me think deeply about my transplant, and it really came home to roost that there is a family out there still grieving no doubt for the loss of their loved one in July last year.
The anguish and heartache they must have experienced and then the sense of loss must have been enormous.
I am truly grateful to them that they took the decision that they would allow the donation of their loved ones organs. I was so fortunate to have received 2, the pancreas and a kidney, perhaps further organs were also suitable for transplant. Potentially 4 or 5 other recipients benefited from the family's brave decision to agree to participate in the transplant process.
Organ Donation NZ is an organisation that raises awareness of organ donation. It works with both donors and the bereaved families to facilitate a sense of community and understanding. Many events are held annually to say thank you.
Trees are planted throughout the country to honour the donors and their families and raise awareness of the importance of agreeing to organ donation. Names of all involved are kept confidential and are not known to any of the people involved.
As recipients we are given the opportunity to write a message, letter or card to the donors family (with no identifying traits in it). I have not done that yet, as I did not want to intrude on another family's grief.
But I will now, to say thanks and that I truly value their kind and brave decision.
If you read this blog, and wish to be a donor then please let your family know, or if your country has a register for donors please indicate your wishes. Death always seems such a long way, but in reality it is always with us, and we never know when it will affect us. As humans we often put things off because they don't seem urgent or can be done later, but sometimes we are not given that option.
We will miss Gorby enormously, we hope he had a happy life with us, we certainly were honoured to be his family. Bye Bye little buddy xxxx
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