Has anyone ever noticed the lack of longtime minority members? It seems to me
That we have had a few pass through like Arcweld and another who used The Stones Logo (sorry don’t remember his name). My hope is that they found what they wanted
and just moved on like so many do. How about the Hispanic members, where are they? There groups have their own unique problems and there input is needed here.
As Black History Month draws to a close, it would be good to remember the wonderful contributions Blacks have made to medical science and their tragically pitiful rewards.
As for me, I still remember when I was a little boy and my poor mother had to search for blood donor to match my rare blood and bring them to the hospital to stand by to give fresh blood. It was a very emotional time for her as no child had survived a valve replacement. I watched as she opened the mail one day (I had been taken out of school on orders from my doctor to enable me to rest) and suddenly she broke down and cried.
I asked her in a that voice, that only a little boy feeling helpless seeing his mother sobbing would, “What’s a matter mommy?” It turns out that a woman with my rare blood type had written to say she would be glad to travel 300 miles to give blood for me.
The women said she was a Negro and would understand if my mother didn’t want to her blood to go into me. My mother felt so bad for this woman and wondered how anyone could turn down gift of life saving blood, just because of skin color. The local newspaper and wire services had done a good job of getting the word out so we ended up getting a lot more letters and donors than we needed. My mother read all the letters, but didn’t have time to respond to them. That afternoon she sat down and wrote a long letter
to this women- mother to mother, thanking her for her offer. When I asked her why she had treated her so special, she told me it was because the women had gone of her way at the risk of rejection, to care about me.
I hope we will all make an effort to make minority heart valvers feel welcome to board and to our VR family.
That we have had a few pass through like Arcweld and another who used The Stones Logo (sorry don’t remember his name). My hope is that they found what they wanted
and just moved on like so many do. How about the Hispanic members, where are they? There groups have their own unique problems and there input is needed here.
As Black History Month draws to a close, it would be good to remember the wonderful contributions Blacks have made to medical science and their tragically pitiful rewards.
As for me, I still remember when I was a little boy and my poor mother had to search for blood donor to match my rare blood and bring them to the hospital to stand by to give fresh blood. It was a very emotional time for her as no child had survived a valve replacement. I watched as she opened the mail one day (I had been taken out of school on orders from my doctor to enable me to rest) and suddenly she broke down and cried.
I asked her in a that voice, that only a little boy feeling helpless seeing his mother sobbing would, “What’s a matter mommy?” It turns out that a woman with my rare blood type had written to say she would be glad to travel 300 miles to give blood for me.
The women said she was a Negro and would understand if my mother didn’t want to her blood to go into me. My mother felt so bad for this woman and wondered how anyone could turn down gift of life saving blood, just because of skin color. The local newspaper and wire services had done a good job of getting the word out so we ended up getting a lot more letters and donors than we needed. My mother read all the letters, but didn’t have time to respond to them. That afternoon she sat down and wrote a long letter
to this women- mother to mother, thanking her for her offer. When I asked her why she had treated her so special, she told me it was because the women had gone of her way at the risk of rejection, to care about me.
I hope we will all make an effort to make minority heart valvers feel welcome to board and to our VR family.
