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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Organ Donation

Receiving treatment for his condition at the Women's and Children's Hospital yesterday, the Year 8 student said he was "really happy" to have inspired so many people to sign up for a cause that has long struggled to cope with demand.

Well, what a heart warming story and what an inspiration to us all. When you read about Coen Ashton, you feel humbled. He has proven , though, that at 13, if you have a goal and a mission, you can achieve what you want. There are no excuses. He has cystic fibrosis and needs a lung transplant. That did not stop him thinking of others and getting on a jet ski and making sure other people like him would be given a chance at life . We can all baulk at the thought of organ donation. We can avoid it, not discuss it , think we should but never do anything about it...and then Coen comes along and makes it easy for 1000 to overcome whatever blocks they had and offer to help people like him. When you know people who need transplants it is easier to talk about organ donation.By discussing it as a normal thing in life, which throws all sorts of tough challenges out, we can then take action.  We used to  have a high organ donation rate in SA because we seemed to know people who needed transplants and we knew how important it is to them.We needed Coen to remind us not to forget! Coen comes from Queensland but we are caring for him here until he is well enough to return home after his massive effort to make all the people he met along the Murray River share and care. When he feels well , he could maybe follow it up on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube so his message continues to shine without the toll on his system. What a hero and he has shown us all how to be great citizens.

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