Hanks' medical story would lend itself well to a movie or memoir, even if his story is a bit extreme. Or perhaps unbelievable. 

A stomach.
A kidney.
A pancreas.
A small intestine.
A large intestine.

And another liver?

Not by name had I heard of multi-visceral transplantation -- or the replacement of multiple organs during the same operation. Nor had I known that all of these organs are replaceable, or that the odds of their replacement are favorable.

According to the Health Resources & Services Association, 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant. That may compound if waiting for multiple organs. At the center of the six organs is Phillip Hanks, a Chicago-area man no older than 50 when he braved the multi-visceral transplantation in 2021. The possible origin of his Hepatitis -- specifically, Hepatitis C -- isn't far-fetched. However, the complications from treating a random onset of course pain led to a second liver transplant in his lifetime.

I recall a couple of acquaintances who I knew who had Hepatitis, but my introduction to complications from it came by fictional depiction. In the short story Saboteur (Ha Jin), the professor's liver seemed to embalm itself or froth in its diseased state. It was very disturbing.

That isn't to overlook the willingness of the organ donors or their families, who remain anonymous to Hanks. Nor the physical endurance, mental stamina, and pressure required by Dr. Mangus and his surgical team at Indiana University Health. They performed the transplants over two consecutive days, which totaled 12 hours. The first day alone was more than 7 hours.

I finished this article queasy. Unless a passing injury or the last stage of a life well-lived, I didn't want to witness human frailty. It was growing up that I got my first sense of it as a visitor to loved ones recuperating from medical events such as complication from HIV/AIDS or a school trip interrupted by what became a friend's pediatric cancer diagnosis. In adulthood, further, a dear former coworker began to miscarry while on the job and another collapsed red-faced on the concrete of the same job.

It's affirming that Hanks was undergoing training for ministry after braving and surviving the nexus of medicine and miracle. I can only hope that circumstances won't call for it in my life, to say the least.

A comment on "A Joliet father of six has five new organs after an extraordinary transplant. ‘We never knew this was possible.’" (D. Rockett)

Related: Octogenarian (2019)
Related: Life Expectancy (2022)
Related: Health Insurance (2020)
​Related: "The Price We Pay" (2021)
Related: Medical Marijuana (2021)

Please join the #CheyneyChallenge, a monthly donation campaign for America's first HBCU. I made my most recent donation of $18.37 today.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
cheyney.edu
Est. 1837
​
The Cheyney Challenge is an initiative of alumnus Mr. Bright. I committed to it in 2015, and began donating the following year. 

A little surprised that drinking less alcohol rather than, say, smoking cessation or sound sleep was the greatest single extender to life expectancy -- regardless of the measured age range or chronic health condition. (Multiple major ailments and over age 80 included!) Compared to the other health factors, I'd thought alcoholic intake was less prevalent across an older lifespan.
​
Apparently, the reduction in intake [was not] insignificant. By doing so, even healthy 40-year-olds increased their life expectancy by 6 years.

A comment on "Researchers Discover How Nearly Everybody Can Increase Their Lifespan" (OSAKA UNIVERSITY)

Related: Japan (2019)​
Related: Octogenarian (2019)
Related: Octogenarian, II (2021)
Related: Aerobics (2021)
​Related: "The Price We Pay" (2020)
Related: Health Insurance (2020)
Related: Medical Marijuana (2021)
Related: Organ Transplants (2022)

Two weeks ago today, the individual left a mutual site three minutes after I did (per security footage). It was Monday during the 06:00 hour. 

Eventually, he arrived at the establishment in the vehicle below. He then divided most of his time between smoking at his car outside and sitting down inside.

Later, as I gathered my belongings to leave, the individual left his own belongings unattended and rushed to his car outside. As he entered the vehicle, I hurried out the building via a different exit and rounded the block...

​... in the opposite direction.

Per security footage, the individual returned to the very first site minutes before my return on foot. Maintaining a physical barrier behind a door, I demanded that he stop following me. I screamed it! I considered him another hanger-on in my life.

​Besides, I was never attracted to the individual physically and his persistent lurking turned me off interpersonally.

"I'm not interested!" I yelled... annoyed.

​I'm just not interested.

Among other things, he said he's also been through a divorce. That he has a car. "Do you?" And that he, too, works in IT -- namely, for a hotel. 

Until that moment, I avoided talking to him. On a few successful occasions, I cracked the door open to deter him from standing in the immediate corridor any longer. However, without a peep hole or security camera at the time, I stayed behind the closed door while he'd linger multiple times as I worked alone at night.

In the external silence of my downtime, I'd shift in place or  -- in one instance -- my work phone churped before the individual would:
​

1. Walk away
2. Close the nearby door and then walk away, or
3. Slam the nearby door, then stand there in place.

This often occurred multiple times on most nights for the better part of six months.

Prior to the May 9 altercation, the last deterrence was March 1. At the time, he waited about 5 minutes for someone to return an item he'd forgotten. After receiving it, he remained in the immediate corridor for another several minutes.

​I cracked the door open.

"Oh! I'm sorry," he said, and kept it moving.

​About 4-feet wide (1.22 meters), the corridor accommodates adults of average weight/height if walking behind each other (in the same direction) or passing each other one at a time (from opposite directions).

Two weeks prior to the May 9 altercation, the individual left the site 5-to-10 minutes after I did. Outside, he encountered police responding to the location. It was the 05:00 hour.

Wearing a workman's uniform for a different hotel, he volunteered to officers that he's waiting for an Uber. If to the hotel on his uniform, then it was a 15-minute walk away.

​Ironically, it was his employment status for which he first announced himself about six months ago. During an organizational meeting on Zoom, I provided a personal update as is routine among fellow members. It included a few life-changing events, including a divorce and a new job.

The individual -- who was not part of the meeting -- entered the immediate corridor.

​"I don't have a job and I don't care," he said.

Previously, I made multiple trips to the building throughout the day over one weekend. I sometimes passed him leaving the building before I entered it. He was gray and looked about 55-to-65. So with the later announcement that he didn't work, I assumed he was a retiree.

At any rate, I want no contact with this person and none of his attention.

Related: Student Loan Debt (2020)
Related: Health Insurance (2020)
​​Related: Green Party of Pennsylvania (2022)
​Related: Electoral Politics (2019)
​Related: Prison Reform (2022)

Please join the #CheyneyChallenge, a monthly donation campaign for America's first HBCU. I made my most recent donation of $18.37 today.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
cheyney.edu
Est. 1837
​
The Cheyney Challenge is an initiative of alumnus Mr. Bright. I committed to it in 2015, and began donating the following year. 

I think we should speak in a language that appeals to the broadest coalition of Pennsylvanians. Like that adage says, "Keep It Simple, Silly." Perhaps a slogan -- rather, different slogans -- will amass this appeal. For example, combine into a slogan... popular themes among participants of the study (i.e. COVID): "No time for corruption in a time of COVID." "Better together: End COVID and End Corruption, too." Or "Better Together: Ban Corruption and Ban COVID, too."

Related: CoVID-19 (2020)
Related: Digital Ads (2019)
Related: Electoral Politics (2019)
Related: Electoral Politics, II (2020)

At 8:30 p.m. (20:30 hours) I'll observe Earth Hour 2022. That means lights out for an hour -- or keep the lights off for another hour. I don't have candles, but I have flashlights and portable lights. (Apart from my main flashlight, I'll work on emergency lighting powered by reusable batteries or solar energy next time.)

Otherwise, I'm working an extra 10 hours today -- my first bout of overtime this year. The money won't be for turning up though. During an emergency last year, I lived off my retirement for several months. I'm making some last-minute contributions to it before April 15 (or whenever the tax-filing deadline).

Obviously, I'm not participating in an event for Earth Hour this year. However, an event I added to my bucket list in 2020 is fitting for Earth Hour next year. Therefore, I'll hold off on that item one more year.

Hint: Cherry Springs State Park -- I'm coming in 2023, if not before!

I didn't know there was a difference in energy consumption by front-end and top-over washers and dryers. Also, there are reusable bags specifically for produce. The Earth Hour website provides other easy-to-read tips on lifestyle changes that reduce human pollution, retail waste, and household energy at www.earthhour.org/take-part/beyond-the-hour.

​Maybe you'll enjoy it as well!

Earth Hour is an annual act of solidarity to highlight the appreciation of people for their planet.

Related: Renewable Energy (2021)
Related: Renewable Energy, II (2021)
Related: Environmental Committee (Feb. 2022)
​Related: Ventilation (2020)