My son just turned 16, and I swear there are days when he worries me sick. He's one of those quiet types that doesn't say too much, and tends to hang out in his room listening to his stereo or playing Super Mario on his N64. When he's not doing that, he's aggravating his two little sisters. He's a normal teenager.
Well, today, I had one of those Wow, what a great kid I have moments, and I just wanted to share.
We had to go into the city today to get his health card ID updated with a new photograph. He wanted to go in by himself while I parked the car. I was actually surprised when I arrived - he was almost finished going through the line and getting his application completed - the last time I was there for my own health card, it took almost two hours to get processed.
Anyway, as I arrived at the wicket, the woman behind the desk handed him an organ donor registration form. He asked me what he should do with it. I explained what it meant to be an organ donor, and that if were in an accident that caused brain death and there was no chance of recovery, this was his permission to use various parts of his body to help other people. I explained that he was old enough to make that decision and his dad and I would do our best to respect his decision. I also told him that he could change his mind at any time and tell us if he did, and it would be OK, that we would respect that decision too.
He didn't hesitate. He registered to donate his organs.
And in the car on the way home, he asked how old he had to be in order to donate blood.
Looking back at myself as a 16 year old JW, I was nowhere near mature enough to make a decision of that magnitude. I could barely make up my mind what to wear to school each day, let alone give clearly informed consent for medical decisions - all I knew then was to say NO BLOOD and whip out my wallet card in an emergency.
It feels good to know that my son has a social conscience and awareness that I didn't have at his age.
Love, Scully