Danielle Kuschnik
Comp 106
Final Paper
December 8, 2009


Life: A Gift Not A Given Right
Have you ever imagined how fragile life is and how it can be dramatically altered within
moment’s time? I myself never dreamed that my life change in such a short period of time, within days
and come to a complete halt. It all started this past June of 2009, my boyfriend Charbel, of almost five
years had been feeling rather sick and constantly tired. This we thought was just a bad case of
bronchitis (on top of the fact the he was constantly fatigued, he would constantly cough). After several
trips to many different doctors ranging from primary physicians to cardiologists the conclusion was just
low iron and the remedy was an iron supplement. After about a month of taking iron supplements and
still no improvement Charbel decided to go to the hospital, just to be on the safe side. This was a
decision that saved his life. When he arrived to the hospital and described his symptoms to the doctors
which included severe noise bleeds, coughing up blood and always being constantly tired, the doctors at
the hospital decided to draw blood. The results were astounding his platelet count was at 2,000, most
people have a platelet count somewhere between 120,000 to 150,000. (Platelets are the component of
blood that forms clots to form when a cut occurs). After several days of tests, including a bone marrow
biopsy, the final conclusion was that Charbel had severe aplastic anemia. Aplastic Anemia is a form of
anemia in which the capacity of the bone marrow to generate blood cells is defective.
So how has all of this changed my life? When someone you love gets really sick it changes not
only your perspective towards life but also all of your routines. I am the type of person that likes to plan
everything out and does not like an abrupt change of plans. I am also very outgoing and never spend
time at home just sitting around. When Charbel first got sick I found myself abandoning any idea of
having everything planned out and instead spend my days sitting around in a hospital. My lifestyle of
always being on the go has slowed down quite a bit, for right now anyways. I have learned to stop cram
packing every moment of each day with superficial things and to savor each moment. I now “suck the
marrow out of life”, as envisioned by Henry David Thoreau (Although the literal meaning of this famous
quote has an ironic tune to it, as compared to Charbel’s condition.) I also spend more time in deep
thought. When you have time to just sit there and watch someone sleep you begin to develop a whole
new outlook towards life. (This is what I do many nights when I can’t fall asleep at the hospital.) Some
things in life are so much more beautiful when looked at slowly; detail is much more easily noticed. So
what else in my life has changed besides my lifestyle? My perspective of life has totally changed. I now
live life as if today were my last day and truly realize that each day is a gift and not a given right, as
vocalized by Nickleback. I am much more appreciative of the little things in life and have cut back on
the wants. I am the type of person that it super ambitious and this ambitiousness tends to lead to
endless wants. To put it nicely I want too much. This concept of being too ambitious is not always a
good thing. Before Charbel got sick I was the type of person that was truly never happy with what I had,
it always felt as if something were missing. I always took life for granted. Now instead of always
wanting something more, I want what I have and see how truly lucky I am. How can I pull being lucky
out of a situation like this? Well to start with when Charbel first went into the hospital all of the
symptoms he had pointed to leukemia, but it turned out to aplastic anemia. Things could have been so
much worse. Leukemia which is a form of cancer is so much harder to cure then aplastic anemia and the
fatality rate is higher. Another reason why we are very lucky is because he was one of the few people
that was able to not only to find a suitable bone marrow donor but a perfect match. One out of twelve
million people on the bone marrow registry list were a match and we are extremely fortunate that that
person agreed to donate. (Some people have second thought about donating once on the list.) I have
always felt that he receiving the bone marrow transplant was a true miracle. Over seventy percent of
the people who need a bone marrow transplant are not able to receive one because a suitable donor
cannot be found. To think of it that way always shakes me. The fact that one single person’s actions
changed Charbel’s life and saved him always amazes me. This brings me to another aspect of my life
that has been changed by Charbel’s condition, doing things for other people even though even when it
can trouble you. I have always been a person that tries to help others, but usually only when it is
convenient. It always felt as if I barely had enough time in my life for myself, let alone to take the time
to help someone else. This changed when Charbel became sick. One reason why it changed is because
Charbel needed and still sometimes needs constant blood transfusions. I have always loved the idea of
donating blood but never took the time to actually go out and donate, even though it only takes less
than an hour. I still did not make a point to go out and donate until one night when Charbel was in the
hospital and he needed a blood transfusion but the blood supply was low and he has to have blood
shipped from another hospital. This situation made me think. What if there was such as shortage of
blood that he was unable to be transfused. This scenario of seeing how short blood supplies can be
made me does out the next day and donate. According to the Red Cross more than 38,000,000
donations of blood are needed every day and one out of every ten people admitted to the hospital will
need a blood transfusion . Charbel was one of those people.
It’s truly amazing to look back on life and realize all that I have take for granted, but this
experience has forever changed my life. You never tend to notice how quickly life can change and how
fragile life is until your life is altered. For this experience I am not only forever changed but also forever
grateful, I now know how to not only appreciate the little things in life but also try to help others
1.
whenever I can. Just like that one person who donated their bone marrow to save Charbel’s life and the
many others who donated their blood to keep him alive.
Works Cited
2. http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/medicine/bonemarrow/bmtinfo.html
3. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/aplastic%20anemia
4. http://www.answers.com/topic/henry-david-thoreau
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau
6. http://artists.letssingit.com/nickelback-lyrics-if-today-was-your-last-day-k8sf51k
7. http://www.givelife2.org/sponsor/quickfacts.asp