|
|
|
The Charity Bear Company is dedicated to making quality bears/bunnies to raise money for charitable organizations all over the country. Please read Jill Hasenkopf-Miller's story below about how the company originated.
"I am a young woman, who is a survivor of both a kidney transplant and stage 3-breast cancer. My illnesses taught me a lot about life and the importance of helping others. I am passionate about spreading the word about organ donation awareness and breast cancer research. This is my story… At the age of 26, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. My doctors believe that the disease was caused by an undiagnosed case of strept throat. I was on dialysis for 18 months while awaiting a kidney transplant. While on dialysis, I wanted my life to be as normal as possible. I dreamed of getting a transplant, but I didn’t want to put my life on hold. I worked full time as a Fundraiser for a local college, and later as a Contract Analyst for a health care plan. I also had the opportunity to act as a patient liaison between the patients of my dialysis clinic and the staff as the Patient Representative for Network 4 (the Pennsylvania region).
While I was on dialysis, I had a lot of time to think about
the important things in life. I became interested in pursuing a career in
medicine. I enrolled in a Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical program at Duquesne
University in Pittsburgh. Just two weeks before I started classes, I got “the
call”. I had been on a first date with a new friend. After a day of fun, my
cell phone battery ran out of juice and I asked my date to take me home. I
arrived home to find 24 messages on my answering machine. I knew something had
happened! The first message was from my transplant coordinator at Allegheny
General Hospital in Pittsburgh, offering me a healthy kidney. The other 23
messages were from friends and family trying to track me down! My life changed dramatically overnight. I no longer had to endure the restrictive diet and fluid restriction of dialysis, to the contrary, now I had to drink a lot of fluids! My quality of life increased tremendously. Everything went so well that I only spent 5 days in the hospital!
A year later, I began the Post-bacc Pre-med program at
Duquesne. However, just two weeks into the program, and just 2 months before my
wedding, I found out that I had an advanced stage of Breast Cancer. I was
devastated, but with the support of my fiancé (now husband) and my family, I
fought with everything I had, and beat the cancer. The doctors told me that with out the transplant, I would not have been able to endure the chemotherapy that saved my life. Miraculously, my kidney transplant saved my life twice! Even though my efforts to complete the pre-med program were twice thwarted, first by the transplant and then by the diagnosis of breast cancer, the more time I spent as a patient, the more determined I became to pursue a career in medicine. I wanted to help others who might be suffering and studying medicine was the answer. Two years after my Breast Cancer diagnosis, I again started
the pre-med program. While studying the sciences, I wanted to do something extra
to promote organ donor awareness. My Mom and I came up with the idea of making a
beanie bear with the international symbol for organ donor awareness, a green
ribbon symbol embroidered on his chest. We designed the bear with the
words “Gift of Life” embroidered on his back and our company was born. In 2002, I participated in the Transplant Games, where I competed in swimming events as part of team Pittsburgh. I was blessed to bring home two bronze medals! I am an active member of the transplant community and I even serve on the Board of Directors for the National Kidney Foundation. In 2003 my long-time dream came true when I was accepted to medical school. During medical school my husband, Erik and I welcomed our wonderful son, Royal into our family. I graduated from Medical school in June of 2006 and started my Residency in Family Practice at Meadville Medical Center, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. I plan on practicing medicine in a medically underserved area, so that I can maximize my ability to help people.
|
