Months After Heart Transplant, Woman Seeks To Give Back
Jane Tecce has the unique perspective of having experienced both sides of being an organ donor. Years ago after her son’s death at the age of 24, his organs were donated so that others could have a new chance at life. Now, Tecce herself is still recovering from a heart transplant that she received some 16 months ago. She also received a kidney transplant at that time. “My kids are starting to have kids now. I’m being a grammy. I can’t imagine not being here,” she said in a recent conversation with Patch.com. Tecce said that she was first diagnosed with heart disease about 12 years ago. Tecce moved to Lynnfield two years ago and grew up in Wakefield, graduating from Wakefield Memorial High School. Her family owns Santoro’s in Peabody, she reported. Her motivation to help spread the word about becoming an organ donor is not limited to just her own experiences. Tecce lost one brother, David, to heart disease when he was 51 and waiting for a heart transplant. A younger brother Jimmy, reportedly had a heart transplant in 2000 at Tufts and lived for eight years after that. “I’ve been on both ends of it. That’s what I feel is important,” she said. According to Tecce, organ donors and recipients actually interact somewhat routinely through email and letters if they wish to do so – although this typically won’t happen until a year or so after a transplant. In her own case, she met her donor’s family, who were from Rhode Island, on the one-year anniversary of the transplant, something she described as “very emotional.” Those who receive an organ transplant will face an elevated risk of infection in the months after the procedure, and Tecce recalled having some setbacks in the early going. “In the last six months, I’ve done really, really well,” she said, adding that she also hopes to return to work while also potentially doing some speaking and information tables for the New England Organ Bank. “I want to remember the people that gave me this chance,” said Tecce. To learn more about becoming an organ donor, visit the New England Organ Bank’s DonateLifeNewEngland.org website here. South End Patch
Obama: ‘Even When Our Heart Aches… We Finish the Race.’
Mentioning scripture, sports teams, marathon icons, and harkening back to his days of living in the Boston area, President Barack Obama spoke during an interfaith service in the South End on Thursday. “Like you, Michelle and I have walked these streets. Like you, we know these neighborhoods. And like you, in this moment of grief, we join you in saying — ‘Boston, you’re my home.’ For millions of us, what happened on Monday is personal. It’s personal,” said Obama, from the Cathredal of the Holy Cross. President Obama was the last speaker in an emotionally-charged service that also included speeches, and a moving performance by the Boston Children’s Chorus. Click here for the full text of President Obama’s speech. Of the three victims, the president spoke of the liveliness of Medford native Krystle Campbell; Chinese national Lu Lingzi’s coming to BU as a grad student; and 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester. President Obama mentioned a picture being widely circulated of Richard, holding a handwritten sign that read: “No more hurting people. Peace.” Obama repeated the phrase with emphasis. “Our prayers are with the injured — so many wounded, some gravely. From their beds, some are surely watching us gather here today,” said Obama. “And if you are, know this: As you begin this long journey of recovery, your city is with you. Your commonwealth is with you. Your country is with you. We will all be with you as you learn to stand and walk and, yes, run again. Of that I have no doubt. You will run again. You will run again.” Obama promised that whoever committed the heinous acts at the Boston Marathon would be found and brought to justice. But President Obama focused on the resiliency of Boston, and spoke with great pride in how Bostonians came together during the tragic events. “When doctors and nurses, police and firefighters and EMTs and Guardsmen run towards explosions to treat the wounded — that’s discipline,” said Obama. “When exhausted runners, including our troops and veterans — who never expected to see such carnage on the streets back home — become first responders themselves, tending to the injured — that’s real power.” Obama quoted one of the greatest Boston Marathon icons — Dick Hoyt, who has pushed his disabled son, Rick, in 31 Boston Marathons. “We can’t let something like this stop us.” And President Obama also placed a bet: “And this time next year, on the third Monday in April, the world will return to this great American city to run harder than ever, and to cheer even louder, for the 118th Boston Marathon. Bet on it.” South End Patch