Article About Me!!!

So I am just kind of feeling blah today and I didn't really have any ideas on what I should write about, so I thought I would share this article about me! It was written in my the company my father work's for newsletter.

A Quick Response with a Life on the Line
Submitted by Randy Young, Temperature Control Specialist

At Peterson Power, we’re known for our ability to respond quickly to emergencies in the extremely downtime-sensitive industries we serve. A data center, pharmaceuticals plant, and—most importantly—a hospital simply cannot afford to lose power, even for a moment. But when we’ve heard this message a thousand times, it has a tendency to lose its impact… Until we’re faced with a real-life example of how terrifically important these places can be for the people we love. Gary Weese, Rental Project Coordinator for Power’s Temperature Control Division in Benecia, knows firsthand about the power of a quick response from a hospital—it recently saved his daughter’s life.

For much of her life, Gary’s daughter, Allie, has experienced a gradual hardening of muscle tissue in her heart, an ailment that rendered the organ less and less efficient. Weeks before Thanksgiving 2009, Allie was in grave danger from the disorder, and her name was added to the list of potential heart donor recipients. Since donated tissue must be carefully matched to an individual recipient’s physiology, there’s no reliable way to estimate when an organ that meets a particular person’s needs will become available—one must simply wait, and when the time comes, act as quickly as possible. On November 20th, Gary received the all-important call from Stanford Medical Center indicating that a heart for Allie had arrived. He rushed to the hospital.

That very night, at about midnight, surgeons began Allie’s heart transplant, and roughly five hours later, her new heart was pumping strong. “It was an incredible relief when we found out that a heart was available,” Gary said. “But a lot can happen after the operation, too. Allie needed continued treatment to fully recover.”

Indeed, for twelve days after the operation, Allie stayed at Stanford Medical Center while doctors monitored her heart’s performance. When her condition was determined to be suitably stable, they transferred her to a hotel next to the Kaiser Permanente facility in Santa Clara, where she continued to recuperate. According to Gary, Allie recovered well: “Kaiser had a party on Christmas, and Allie was able to attend—despite having been operated on only weeks before.” Five weeks after arriving at the hotel, Allie’s doctors had more good news for her and her family: her condition was stable enough for her to get back to her normal life, attending a nursing program in college and staying right in the middle of things.

“Stories like Allie’s drive home the point that this can happen to anyone,” Gary said. “The best way to help is to register as an organ and tissue donor with your state. People you know and love can benefit directly—lives can be saved.” Gary added that interested Peterson people can quickly and easily sign up to become organ donors by visiting www.donatelifecalifornia.org (in California) and www.donatelifenw.org (in Oregon and Washington). “It’s that easy,” Gary said. “You can also register at the DMV or by filling out a short form. Donor registration will not change the medical care you are provided if you’re in an accident—they won’t ‘let you die’—nor will it affect your funeral planning or cost your family money. It’s a gift you give so that others might live.”