A little bit on Omar

I've been asked to write about my brother many times. There are many reasons why I don't want to. The main one being I cannot put into words what I feel when I see my brother go through his daily struggles.

Many people complaint when something hurts and they question God why they hurt. We tend to overlook at things and put a lot more value on things than they need. For instance, we may cry over the love of our life walking away inexplicably. I'm guilty of having done this myself. After days of sobbing and walking around as a zombie, my brother Omar said to me: "I walk around with a backpack that contains "jet fuel" so that my heart can keep beating and you are crying over an idiot? You can walk just fine, your organs work on their own, you are beautiful, smart.... what the hell is wrong with you? So he left! Get over it and get on with your life" OUCH! Talk about tough love. I felt embarrassed not because I'm not supposed to cry over a "man", but because my brother was right. 

I used to overlook being able to pee, being able to walk, shower, opening a bottle of soda, going upstairs, and being outside. I used to overlook these things because they seem silly, until you are no longer able to do them. 

How do you even explain how you feel when you go to bed shaking from the amounts of pain you are in? Or how you feel when you feel powerless as the one you love is shaking from the amounts of pain he's in and there is NOTHING you can do. Morphine? check! Pain reliever patch? check! Fix pillows? check! check! check! You've done everything you can, yet you've done nothing. 

People ask me: "how's your brother?" I usually always answer: "stable" For those of you that don't know what stable means... it simply means there is really NOTHING more we can do. He's not in the hospital and we're kinda managing. 

It's hard to see your loved ones suffer. It's sad to wake up every morning to the sound of him throwing up and gasping for air or watching him freak out because his mobility decreases day by day. 

I tell you one thing though... my brother has fought a hell of a fight and I could not be prouder of all he's accomplished in his life. He's got a great ear for music, a great hand for art. My brother Omar has come back from the dead a few times and has seen and gone through things I couldn't put on paper. I am so proud to call him my brother and he's the strongest person I know. 

Seize the day!!! and look after what makes you happy...-Dedicated to Nadia Sofia (RIP)

It is with tears in my eyes that I write this post. Funny enough I had just written of how tears cleanse and help you start over. But these are not those type of tears; these are happy tears. As you all know, my brother Omar is a twice heart transplanted patient, who's been through hell and back a few times. He makes note of all the monsters and battles he's put up with. He still battles to breathe the congested air, drink the poisonous water, and see our cloudy skies.
LIFE IS PRECIOUS.
I have to be thankful to the Villalba family that allowed their son, brother, cousin's organs to be used. Unfortunately, back in 1998, this heart was damaged. Whoever this happy heart belonged to was hit so hard by a car, that there were clots in his organs and we were not able to use his much needed heart.
Back in the same year, another healthy girl loses her life. This time, the UNKNOWN family to Matilda (that's the name Omar gave her donor) also allowed her organs to be used and allow others to live. Matilda's heart beat inside Omar's body for a long 13 years. Regardless of his massive rejection and heart attack; Matilda's heart beat strong.
One other family lost a young man. Mind you, my descriptions are brief because that's all we know. All we know is their time of death was some hours before Omar's big surgery. This one was also from Orlando, FL. Small world if you ask me. This heart was sick, but strong.
Three hearts, three losses, three gains, three families.
It breaks my heart to know that some families refuse to share their lost one's organs. Mind you, the patients are not asking for something that is being used by your loved one. Neither they're asking to hurt your loved one. They're simply asking for a chance. A chance to live longer. A chance for those organs that otherwise would go either to a burner, a grave, or the trash.... Instead, those organs could safe someone's life. I just came across a blog and after a family had agreed to donate the organs, the patient was told they changed their mind. Being the optimistic person she was, Nadia Sofia was grateful and understanding of the plan of God and was waiting for another heart. Sadly, Nadia didn't make it; she parted this world. Im not saying you have to donate your loved ones organs. This is a VERY personal decision and we all respect that.  We also appreciate the ones that DO. All I'm asking is for you to at least consider it? Give people like Omar and Nadia. People like David and Belmari and all the other transplant patients a chance. David is no longer with us either, but his family enjoyed him a little longer thanks to a family saying yes.