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I feel great just to be alive. So appreciative, just having the chance to be a part of things. It is not that I want to spend the rest of my life kissing the ground. But I would like to do something meaningful. (Lung Transplant Recipient, 1990)
Certain life events prompt one to contemplate the deeper meaning and value of life. A birth, marriage, serious illness, or death can lead any of us to pause in moments of self-reflection. As a result, changes in one's values, priorities and outlook on life can occur. These have long been recognized to occur with major or traumatic life events.
These adjustments can occur with serious illness and organ transplant. The personal changes may be so meaningful that they propel some candidates and recipients on a journey that could be considered spiritual. Some will readily embrace these shifts, finding them calming and reassuring. But others will be confused. A feeling of unease can arise from the sense that something is different. Exactly what has changed may not be readily apparent. We hope that this chapter will help guide you through the deep felt personal effects that transplant can have on you or someone close to you.
There are several different types of personal changes that can occur with illness and transplant. We will begin with some examples.
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After living through illness and transplant, Trevor, Candice and Elaine each noticed changes in themselves. Trevor's goal for a heart transplant was to return his life to normal. But after recovery, it seemed as though his priorities had shifted. What was normal for him before transplant now did not feel right?
Candice had matured far beyond her years. Friends sensed qualities in her that led them to search out her counsel. She saw life differently then most others her own age. Elaine was startled and confused by disturbing qualities that she now saw in some family members. Neither Trevor nor Candice nor Elaine had set out with any goal for personal change. Instead, they noticed shifts in their outlook only after they had occurred.
Medical care today is far more advanced than even thirty years ago. As a result, people are likely to live much longer after serious illness. This is not only true for organ transplant recipients. Those with severe injuries or cancer are much more likely to recover their health. Survivors of these and other life-threatening conditions often describe remarkably similar changes in their outlook on life. Some of these are listed in Table 9.1.
We do not wish to imply that this is a recently discovered phenomenon. More correctly, medical science has now observed what has been described elsewhere for centuries. Many spiritual and religious traditions have suggested the mutative potential of illness and adversity. Christian passages are filled with stories of those who find renewed compassion for life and humanity after recovering from serious illness. In Buddhist teachings, confrontation with one's own mortality is said to result in a greater appreciation of life, less neurotic thinking and a more purposeful life. Native Indian and other aboriginal peoples often chose their shamans or 'medicine men' from those who had survived great tragedy or illness. These great traditions lend validity to modern observations of personal growth after illness and transplantation.
How can serious illness and organ transplant cause deep felt personal change? Why do changes occur in some but not in others? Are they real or imagined, good or bad? Why do we suggest that these changes may represent personal or spiritual growth? These are complex questions to which any response will be incomplete. But some insight into their answers can be found by investigating two very simple questions. Who do we believe ourselves to be? And how can illness challenge these beliefs?
Some of what you say sounds almost religious. Why is this?
How does religion view organ donation and transplantation?
Is it only with illness that spiritual growth can occur?
