August is recognized in the U.S. as National Minority Donor Awareness Month, an annual observance dedicated to raising awareness and encouraging organ, eye, and tissue donation within multicultural communities.
This morning we tell the story of Joshua Lee, Lung Transplant Recipient – Age 64 . Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis as a teen, Joshua Lee’s condition eventually damaged his lungs, making it difficult to breathe or work. By early 2024, he relied on oxygen machines and had to leave his job. In July, he was hospitalized and received a life-saving lung transplant at Temple University Hospital. Now, Joshua calls himself a “living testimony” and credits his recovery to his wife’s support and the gift of organ donation.
Learn more about organ and tissue donation at www.donors1.org
Follow:
📘 Facebook: @GiftOfLifeDonorProgram
📸 Instagram/X: @donors1
#DonateLife #GiftOfLife #OrganDonation
This morning we tell the story of Joshua Lee, Lung Transplant Recipient – Age 64 . Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis as a teen, Joshua Lee’s condition eventually damaged his lungs, making it difficult to breathe or work. By early 2024, he relied on oxygen machines and had to leave his job. In July, he was hospitalized and received a life-saving lung transplant at Temple University Hospital. Now, Joshua calls himself a “living testimony” and credits his recovery to his wife’s support and the gift of organ donation.
Learn more about organ and tissue donation at www.donors1.org
Follow:
📘 Facebook: @GiftOfLifeDonorProgram
📸 Instagram/X: @donors1
#DonateLife #GiftOfLife #OrganDonation
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow. This week we highlight
global pride and local impact. Zabeth Ti Luxing joins us
to preview Philadelphia's World Heritage City celebration, and then we
spotlight independence. Will Crosses celebrate Caring campaign with three remarkable
nurses making a difference far beyond the bedside. But first
(00:23):
we highlight the critical need for organ donation.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
My name is Joshua Lee and I am a long
transplant recipient.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Joshua, what led to your transplant?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
What led to my transplant is that I had a
disease known as rheumatide atritis, which I developed from my
family family line. My family roots. It runs in my
father's bloodline and it trickles down to my family and
we all got this disease.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Describe how you felt and how your impact your health
was impacted by your illness prior to the transplant.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
All I felt was my disease was very complex in
terms of how it affected my body. I could not
from my early years. I was having difficulties in my robusts,
moving my limbs, and you know, I could feel pain
in my joints and all kinds of stuff. It will
(01:25):
move from one point to the other, and then after
a while I could not really do my regular life duties.
I could not do what I need to do. I
could not walk, I could not do certain stuff. And
then it was affected my life completely and I could
not do what I want to do. And you know,
it was a challenge, a very big challenge for me
(01:49):
to move about and to complete my life duties.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Joshua, what was the impact on your loved ones?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
The impact on my loved ones. I can tell you something.
It was not very easy because there was a concern. Yes,
when you have this kind of problem, there is a
concern about your lifestyle. You know. For instance, my sister
was always concerned about my life and all my families
(02:16):
they were so concerned. They'll be calling me every time
I'll go to the doctor. They'll be freelm out what
is going on? You know, is it going to get worse?
And you know, all kinds of things was going through
their mind. It was It was not a very nice
and happy thing for them to accept, especially when they're
seeing you not making any progress, but you're going down
(02:38):
the road and you're not getting any better. Is it
raised a serious concern among your family member.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Joshua, describe how you felt when you found out that
you were going to receive a life saving transplant.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh my god, all I felt was it's sometimes it's
very hard to describe because it's like your being swept
away in the current of some river and someone throw
a rope and give you and then you're able to,
you know, hold on to that rope and pull yourself
the safety. I felt so excited, so happy that that
(03:14):
I'll be getting a second chance to live and being
a recipient. You know, I am happy every day I
look in my life and I'm very grateful knowing that
someone had really decided to give me a chance to
have a second chance to live. You know, when I
realized that I was getting a long transplant in the
first place, I was happy. I was excited, you know,
(03:36):
I was excited. It was something that you sometimes that
only you can't even explain it even today, you know,
the job that is in your heart. I feel so
good about it.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's fantastic. I love that, and I love that you
shared how wonderful you felt and how much it meant
to you. I wonder if you can talk a little
bit about how you feel now. What can you do
now that you couldn't do before?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Very good question. What I can do now that I
couldn't do before? Let me do it in two phase.
What I could not do before was that I could
not I could not walk up the stairs, I could
not ride my bike, I could not walk in a mall.
And I had to leave my job. I could not
work anymore. You know, I could not do the everyday stuff.
(04:17):
You know, at one point I couldn't even bad myself.
It was that bad, you know, I would have be
an oxygen every day and all kinds of machines and
all kinds of stuff just to get by. I remember
one day I went to the park to ride my
bike with myself and my family, and when I got there,
you know, I just couldn't ride. I just, I don't know,
mean that this is it. You just can't go anymore.
(04:38):
But after that, after my long transplant, I am able
to do the impossible. I can ride my bike, climb stairs, run,
I can live a normal life. I think I have
given a second chance to live to life. And you know,
I am so excited. I'm so happy. I went to
the park. My son and I we went to ride
(04:59):
all around and oh boys, life is brand new for me.
I felt now that I am able to move around,
it felt so nice, you know, looking back where I
was and I could not do certain things, it feels
it feels so exciting to get into it because I
could not do it. I didn't know what it was
to ride a bike for a long time, you know,
(05:20):
I didn't know what it was inim to climb stairs
by myself, take you know, do stoff by myself. It
felt so so so good, so good.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
I love that, And I really appreciate your joy in
describing how your life has changed. I wonder if you
can talk about the impact that your donor and their
donor family have made on your life, and if you
had the chance to speak with them, what would you
want to say to them?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, the impact that has been a contribute to my life.
You know, I believe that making a commitment to be
a donor is very very very important. You never know
which life or who you might be helping. And I
would like to say to the donor, I want to
say thanks, a million, thanks, a million million thanks and
(06:08):
more thanks. It has it has done something great in
my life, and I would like to say to others
who are out there, you know, be a donor, do something.
I am a living testimony. My story is is a
proof that being a donor really works. If you don't
(06:28):
have if you've been hearing about it, if you have
been listening about it, now you know about it. Because
I am the living testimony. I am the proof that
it really works. And I have people. People know what
my life was before, and I would like to say
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you a million thanks.
It has made my life so different. And the family
(06:52):
that has decided to be a donor, I really salute
them from the bottom of my heart. Yeah, from the
bottom of my heart. And I would encourage many other
families to do the same. It is. It is very
important because you never know, you never know, you never
know what is going to happen at the end of
the journey.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
If people want more information about organ donation, how do
they find out more.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
There's a website Gift of Life or it's simple. Just
go on the website, type in Gift of Life and
there's all tons of information there. They are now because
of my story and what people are seeing and hearing
from what I'm transparent and what is happening in my life,
you know, it makes them want to be a donor
(07:37):
and also want to be a contributor to this program.
So Gift of Life is a tremendous, tremendous, tremendous program.
They're having a great program, and I think I would
encourage everyone to be to support this program. It is
very important to support this program. I am not the
ambassador for the Monpokono region where I'm at, and we
(08:00):
are presently we are doing a tremendous amount of work
in this area, all because I've been a recipient and
what changes have happened to my life, you know. So
go on website and look up Gift of Life. You
will see the hundreds of donors. You will see persons
who are who have been a contributor. You'll see the programs,
(08:23):
and you'll also see where you can register to be
a donor.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
And what is the exact website for that.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
The website is donorswe dot org. Yes, and I want
to say that I was very happy to be helped
by Gift of Life, very happy to be helped, and
I would like to say to anyone out there. Don't
be afraid if you have a problem like myself, if
you have been challenged by sickness or circumstances that I
(08:52):
was in, I would like to let you know. Please
don't get discourage, you know, reach out for help. Gift
of Life is there other person's readier to help you.
And I'm sure that just as oh I am happy,
you can be happy. Also.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Fantastic Joshuae lung transplant recipient and an ambassador for a
Gift of Life. Thank you so much for joining us
and thank you for sharing your joy.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Thank you very very much, and I have a wonderful day.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
We'll have more insight after these messages
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow. This week we highlight
global pride and local impact. Zabeth Ti Luxing joins us
to preview Philadelphia's World Heritage City celebration, and then we
spotlight independence. Will Crosses celebrate Caring campaign with three remarkable
nurses making a difference far beyond the bedside. But first
(00:23):
we highlight the critical need for organ donation.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
My name is Joshua Lee and I am a long
transplant recipient.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Joshua, what led to your transplant?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
What led to my transplant is that I had a
disease known as rheumatide atritis, which I developed from my
family family line. My family roots. It runs in my
father's bloodline and it trickles down to my family and
we all got this disease.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Describe how you felt and how your impact your health
was impacted by your illness prior to the transplant.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
All I felt was my disease was very complex in
terms of how it affected my body. I could not
from my early years. I was having difficulties in my robusts,
moving my limbs, and you know, I could feel pain
in my joints and all kinds of stuff. It will
(01:25):
move from one point to the other, and then after
a while I could not really do my regular life duties.
I could not do what I need to do. I
could not walk, I could not do certain stuff. And
then it was affected my life completely and I could
not do what I want to do. And you know,
it was a challenge, a very big challenge for me
(01:49):
to move about and to complete my life duties.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Joshua, what was the impact on your loved ones?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
The impact on my loved ones. I can tell you something.
It was not very easy because there was a concern. Yes,
when you have this kind of problem, there is a
concern about your lifestyle. You know. For instance, my sister
was always concerned about my life and all my families
(02:16):
they were so concerned. They'll be calling me every time
I'll go to the doctor. They'll be freelm out what
is going on? You know, is it going to get worse?
And you know, all kinds of things was going through
their mind. It was It was not a very nice
and happy thing for them to accept, especially when they're
seeing you not making any progress, but you're going down
(02:38):
the road and you're not getting any better. Is it
raised a serious concern among your family member.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Joshua, describe how you felt when you found out that
you were going to receive a life saving transplant.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh my god, all I felt was it's sometimes it's
very hard to describe because it's like your being swept
away in the current of some river and someone throw
a rope and give you and then you're able to,
you know, hold on to that rope and pull yourself
the safety. I felt so excited, so happy that that
(03:14):
I'll be getting a second chance to live and being
a recipient. You know, I am happy every day I
look in my life and I'm very grateful knowing that
someone had really decided to give me a chance to
have a second chance to live. You know, when I
realized that I was getting a long transplant in the
first place, I was happy. I was excited, you know,
(03:36):
I was excited. It was something that you sometimes that
only you can't even explain it even today, you know,
the job that is in your heart. I feel so
good about it.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's fantastic. I love that, and I love that you
shared how wonderful you felt and how much it meant
to you. I wonder if you can talk a little
bit about how you feel now. What can you do
now that you couldn't do before?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Very good question. What I can do now that I
couldn't do before? Let me do it in two phase.
What I could not do before was that I could
not I could not walk up the stairs, I could
not ride my bike, I could not walk in a mall.
And I had to leave my job. I could not
work anymore. You know, I could not do the everyday stuff.
(04:17):
You know, at one point I couldn't even bad myself.
It was that bad, you know, I would have be
an oxygen every day and all kinds of machines and
all kinds of stuff just to get by. I remember
one day I went to the park to ride my
bike with myself and my family, and when I got there,
you know, I just couldn't ride. I just, I don't know,
mean that this is it. You just can't go anymore.
(04:38):
But after that, after my long transplant, I am able
to do the impossible. I can ride my bike, climb stairs, run,
I can live a normal life. I think I have
given a second chance to live to life. And you know,
I am so excited. I'm so happy. I went to
the park. My son and I we went to ride
(04:59):
all around and oh boys, life is brand new for me.
I felt now that I am able to move around,
it felt so nice, you know, looking back where I
was and I could not do certain things, it feels
it feels so exciting to get into it because I
could not do it. I didn't know what it was
to ride a bike for a long time, you know,
(05:20):
I didn't know what it was inim to climb stairs
by myself, take you know, do stoff by myself. It
felt so so so good, so good.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
I love that, And I really appreciate your joy in
describing how your life has changed. I wonder if you
can talk about the impact that your donor and their
donor family have made on your life, and if you
had the chance to speak with them, what would you
want to say to them?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, the impact that has been a contribute to my life.
You know, I believe that making a commitment to be
a donor is very very very important. You never know
which life or who you might be helping. And I
would like to say to the donor, I want to
say thanks, a million, thanks, a million million thanks and
(06:08):
more thanks. It has it has done something great in
my life, and I would like to say to others
who are out there, you know, be a donor, do something.
I am a living testimony. My story is is a
proof that being a donor really works. If you don't
(06:28):
have if you've been hearing about it, if you have
been listening about it, now you know about it. Because
I am the living testimony. I am the proof that
it really works. And I have people. People know what
my life was before, and I would like to say
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you a million thanks.
It has made my life so different. And the family
(06:52):
that has decided to be a donor, I really salute
them from the bottom of my heart. Yeah, from the
bottom of my heart. And I would encourage many other
families to do the same. It is. It is very
important because you never know, you never know, you never
know what is going to happen at the end of
the journey.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
If people want more information about organ donation, how do
they find out more.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
There's a website Gift of Life or it's simple. Just
go on the website, type in Gift of Life and
there's all tons of information there. They are now because
of my story and what people are seeing and hearing
from what I'm transparent and what is happening in my life,
you know, it makes them want to be a donor
(07:37):
and also want to be a contributor to this program.
So Gift of Life is a tremendous, tremendous, tremendous program.
They're having a great program, and I think I would
encourage everyone to be to support this program. It is
very important to support this program. I am not the
ambassador for the Monpokono region where I'm at, and we
(08:00):
are presently we are doing a tremendous amount of work
in this area, all because I've been a recipient and
what changes have happened to my life, you know. So
go on website and look up Gift of Life. You
will see the hundreds of donors. You will see persons
who are who have been a contributor. You'll see the programs,
(08:23):
and you'll also see where you can register to be
a donor.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
And what is the exact website for that.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
The website is donorswe dot org. Yes, and I want
to say that I was very happy to be helped
by Gift of Life, very happy to be helped, and
I would like to say to anyone out there. Don't
be afraid if you have a problem like myself, if
you have been challenged by sickness or circumstances that I
(08:52):
was in, I would like to let you know. Please
don't get discourage, you know, reach out for help. Gift
of Life is there other person's readier to help you.
And I'm sure that just as oh I am happy,
you can be happy. Also.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Fantastic Joshuae lung transplant recipient and an ambassador for a
Gift of Life. Thank you so much for joining us
and thank you for sharing your joy.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Thank you very very much, and I have a wonderful day.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
We'll have more insight after these messages
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