“Real Housewife” Grateful for Son’s Donor
If you are looking for me on a Monday night around 9 p.m. chances are really good I’m in my living room watching the Real Housewives of New York City. I’ve also been known to follow the Real Housewives of Atlanta, New Jersey, OC… I watch em’ all!
These shows promise lots of drama rolled into a one-hour episode, but rarely does a housewife use her time on the show to speak about something important
Real Housewife of New York City, Heather Thomson
Heather Thomson, mom and mogul, has been very candid about her son’s health issues since joining the Real Housewives of New York City this year. In the first episode she shared that her son Jax, was born with Biliary atresia. Biliary atresia is a liver disease that occurs because there is a blockage in the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. This disease in children can be deadly.
Heather discussed her son’s illness because, thanks to another family’s heroic decision, her son is alive and thriving today. Jax had a liver transplant as a baby.
When the most recent episode was taped, Jax was nearing his seventh birthday. Heather said that turning seven is big milestone for the family, made possible by a donor .
During the episode, Jax’s doctor and Heather shared the importance of organ donation, and the tragic organ shortage in the United States.
I follow Heather on twitter and asked if she has met her donor family. I was very excited when she responded and said while she has not met the donor parents, she has conversed with them through letters and has met a few members of their extended family.
I want to say thanks to Heather Thomson and Bravo for sharing this story and reminding viewers that organ donors are heroes and they save lives!
- Erin Henry, community educator
One Comment »
Heather Thomson
Dear Erin,
Thank you so much for writing this piece.
…Someone very, very special to me and to my family wrote that James Adams, an American Historian once said, “The greatest use of a life is to spend it for something that will outlast it”. This quote resonated with me in a way I can only describe to you, as life changing.
Organ donors are heros.
There is no gift greater or more precious one human being can give to another, then to give the gift of life.
And in honor of my sons donor and his family you can always count on hearing me HOLLA that!
xo. Heather