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FIT
FOR LIFE
The
Toledo Journal. |
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YNOTT
hopes to increase organ donation awareness
Originally posted 2/27/2008
Edward
D. Drake II was lying in a hospital bed when he silently sent up
a question: ''Why me?''
He said he received a reply: ''Why not you?''
Edward, 22, his friend Lance Self, 21, and other young people are
trying to turn Edward’s kidney failure into something positive.
They’ve started YNOTT, a Columbus-based foundation whose name
is an acronym for Youth Needing Organ and Tissue Transplants.
''I’m basically just going around, trying to inspire youth,
sharing my story, and trying to get youth to enjoy life and truly
be thankful for what they have received and to do the proper things
to their body,'' Edward said. ''I want to be a positive impact on
the community.''
''The No. 1 thing right now is to raise awareness,'' said Lance,
who like Edward is a native of Toledo. ''We want to save more lives
in the Ohio community – just save more lives.''
YNOTT was certified as a non-profit foundation in August 2007 by
the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. Incorporators include
the two young men’s friends, Asante White and Jontae Essex.
Its purpose is increase awareness among young people about becoming
organ and tissue donors, providing emotional and financial support
to transplant recipients, and educating individuals on healthy habits
and transplant procedures.
''Our vision, and our goal, is to deliver hope and assistance to
youth in need; to decrease the total of deaths yearly of individuals
in need of organ and tissue transplants nationwide, caused by lack
of donors, and to help prevent future organ failures through encouraging
diagnosis and by educating people on healthy lifestyles,'' YNOTT’s
mission statement reads.
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Edward said he was 20 and planning to play for the Eastern Michigan
University football team when his kidney failure was discovered.
He is undergoing dialysis while he waits for a possible transplant,
he said. ''All of a sudden my life changed overnight,'' Edward
said about that diagnosis. ''In a matter of five hours I went
from training for the upcoming football season to being in a
hospital bed with tubes everywhere.''
He said he silently put the question to his Maker from the hospital
bed. 'Then something came to me one night – ‘Why
not you?’'' he said. The foundation’s web site poses
the same question: www.ynottyou@com.
Edward and Lance recently visited Toledo Children’s Hospital
and St. Vincent’s to give teddy bears and toys to children
with serious illnesses. Lance also spoke recently to students
at Springfield High School about the importance of becoming
organ donors. Springfield teacher George Clark said the audience
was perfect for Lance’s message since many of the students
will be getting driver’s licenses and can designate that
they wish to be organ donors.
''It was very informative,'' Mr. Clark said about the presentation.
''He made a great point by saying most people talk about AIDS
or cancer, but that organ donation is something that’s
never really discussed. It was a wake-up call for a lot of kids.''
YNOTT’s presentations inform listeners that an average
of 18 men, women and children die in the United States every
day while awaiting organ transplants. As of November of last
year, there were 98,036 Americans on the organ transplant waiting
list, with most – and with Edward among the 73,980 –
hoping for a kidney transplant.
''I sit in dialysis for four hours three days a week,'' Edward
said. ''I sit there getting kidney treatment and hoping to get
a kidney transplant one day.''My purpose in life now is to save
others and get youth to take better care of their bodies,''
he added. ''And to realize that it can happen to them.''
Edward, now living in Columbus, came home to Toledo for a while
to ''deal with that whole situation'' of knowing one of his
kidneys was failing. He visited the University of Toledo campus
and met Lance, who is a student at UT. YNOTT grew out of the
friendship they struck up.
''It’s my blessing to have met him,'' Edward said. ''It’s
been something special.''
Lance said he and Edward met through a third person at UT, a
friend to both of them. About a year and a half from earning
his bachelor’s, Lance said he decided to devote time and
energy to his new friend’s cause.
''What drew me into it was, when I saw his face and his expression,
it was true to his heart,'' Lance said. ''And if it’s
true to your heart, it’s got to be led by God.''
The YNOTT leaders recently addressed college students in Kalamazoo,
Mich., distributing organ donor cards and urging them to sign
up. They discussed the importance of a donor, in death, saving
another’s life.
Most important to their mission, the young men said, is increasing
awareness of the need for more organ and tissue donations. Secondarily,
they said, is raising funds to increase the foundation’s
impact. They invite people to visit their website or to mail
them at: YNOTT Foundation, 1799 W. 5th Ave., PMB116, Columbus,
OH 43212.
''You can contribute to our foundation, contribute resources;
contribute, of course, financially, through your time and by
just being basically positive and becoming an organ donor,''
Edward said when asked what he wanted to ask the people of Toledo.
''First and foremost, become an organ donor,'' he added.
Lance said, ''I personally want youth to feel what we’re
going through, just to feel the impact we’re trying to
have on the community and how important this dire need is.''
YNOTT is planning ''organ awareness tours'' and plans to have
a major event in Toledo in May.
Edward said he’d like to make his foundation grow into
a force that has impact across the nation.
''Come on out here and help us make this thing grow,'' he said.
''Why not? Why not you?''
Edward said his relatives either have kidneys that don’t
match or don’t want to donate. Lance said he is undergoing
tests to see if one of his kidneys will match his friend’s.
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'Hopefully, God will allow me to do it,'' Lance said. ''We’ll
see what happens from that [testing]. It could be a miracle
ending.''
Edward, meanwhile, said his own health isn’t as important
as trying to help others to avoid getting into situation he
is in, in need of a kidney.
''It’s a unique story,'' Edward said. ''And I truly think
this story was made to inspire people to realize that you don’t
know why things happen the way they happen, but it happens that
way, which was meant to be.
''I never thought that as a little boy I would be able to speak
to people and touch their hearts,'' the young man said. ''It’s
all about helping other and I believe that through helping others,
I will help myself.''
o o o
Persons interested in the foundation can visit its website or
call either 614-341-7000 or 419-932-4505. |
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