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“G
ood Morning,â€? said the may not be there; tomorrow she or I may not elderly man pushing his be there. walker through the fluoHarriett recently came close to having a rescent-light-filled room new kidney. She is on multiple waiting lists occupied by a dozen or so people at 6 a.m. for kidney transplants, and finally, there was “Good morning,â€? they reply in tired voic- a match. At the last moment, the transplant es. This forced camaraderie, this solidarity, did not take place. Cancelled. Now, she is on is not taken lightly. Everyone in the room the hunt again for a kidney. is lacking something really important: kidMany of us are organ donors; we have ney function. That includes my fiancĂŠe, the hearts on our licenses to prove it. But Harriett Johnson. we usually do not think to do so while we I have spent countless hours over the are among the living. I compel you, even if last few years talking to children behind it is not a kidney, to donate what you can. bars, and witnessing or hearing about the Donate blood, donate hair, donate bone most unpleasant things our society can do to marrow, donate money for research, donate young people. None of what I have heard or time. Everything and everyone are worth it. seen could prepare me for being a witness to Harriett is a civil-rights attorney, so she the everyday struggle that is used to being a fighter. Harriett goes through— I am an advocate, so I am What we have one she and so many more used to standing up when individuals with deadit is not always popular to day, we may not ly diseases or cancers stand up. By nature, we have the next, so we whom, like incarcermake demands of those ated individuals, we often around us when we see, need to appreciate try to hide behind doors experience or hear of everything. and smokescreens. something that is unjust. Three times a week, Right now, we, and so we rise at 5 a.m. and go to dialysis. There, many more in Harriett’s situation, are makHarriett, who is easily decades younger than ing demands to an unknown force. There is the next youngest person in the room, gets no clear adversary; there is no clear recipient plugged into a machine that pulls her blood of our scorn. from her body, cleans it and puts it back into We do not share this to make the Jackher. Needless to say, this is draining. This son community feel sorry for Harriett—she ritual gets old real quick. would not stand for that. We share this to Harriett has lupus. This is an autoim- raise awareness and push people to ask quesmune disease that affects more than a mil- tions, seek guidance, to look for those often lion people, mostly women and especially ignored by society, be they in prisons, in women of color, around the country. There nursing homes or because they are in selfis no cure, and there is no way to determine imposed hiding due to a deadly disease all the problems related to it. The symptoms or cancer. Do something—or simply say may include ongoing fatigue, skin irritation “good morning.â€? or, like it is for Harriett, kidney failure. What Harriett has a unique way of lighting that looks like on a day-to-day basis is unpre- up any room with her smile, with her mind, dictable. She may have no energy one day, and with the way she takes care to make maybe nonstop vomiting the next day. everyone around her feel comfortable and She is a much stronger person than I. loved. I don’t share this to make anyone feel Harriett turns to God; she turns to family; guilty about the situation, just to push you she turns to me. And we are not allowed to to go read up on lupus (check out lupusmidgive up because she does not give up, similar south.org for more information), go read up to so many others struggling with lupus, kid- on kidney failure, diabetes and man’s inhuney failure or any number of other potential- manity to man, woman and the world. ly deadly ills. While not alone, she and all her I share this because I am selfish, and loved ones are forced to recognize the power everyone should see Harriett light up and the powerlessness in mortality. What we the room. have one day, we may not have the next, so Jed Oppenheim is a citizen of Jackson. If we need to appreciate everything, from the you have type-O blood and are interested in dosun coming up to the miraculous nature of a nating a kidney to Harriett, please contact him tomato growing in the garden. 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