BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP APRIL 13 - APRIL 19, 2018 35
Local hospital marks National Donate Life Month
BY VICTORIA MERLINO
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Are you a donor?
NYU Langone Hospital –
Brooklyn celebrated National
Donate Life Month through a flag-raising
ceremony on April 9, hoping
to raise awareness and encourage
Americans to register as organ, eye
and tissue donors. The event was in
collaboration with LiveOnNY, an organization
that advocates for organ
donor registration.
“I can tell you personally, having
taken care of dialysis patients for all
my life, I have seen patients die on the
list waiting for an organ. I have seen
patients whose lives are transformed
from having gotten an organ,” Dr.
Joseph Weisstuch, the hospital’s chief
medical officer, said in his remarks
at the event. He explained that with
greater registration, patients would
not need to wait as long for transplants,
and organs would be less likely to
come from people who are otherwise
healthy and do not need operations.
“It’s an opportunity to live on beyond
your life,” he said.
New York State ranks last in the
nation in the percent of residents registered
as organ donors, according to
the hospital, with only 31 percent of
residents registered as organ donors
compared to 56 percent nationwide.
There are currently 9,355 New Yorkers
waiting for life-saving organ transplants,
and they are likely to wait three
to five years for a transplant. Meanwhile,
nationally, patients usually wait
one or two years for a transplant.
Elizabeth Douglas, co-chair of the
hospital's Organ Donor Council and
a nurse, told a story during the event
about a woman she has worked with
the previous week who had suffered
cardiac arrest and was brain dead.
Douglas explained that while the
woman was a registered organ donor,
her family was devastated and uncomfortable
with the prospect of donation.
However, the family soon came to
terms with the woman’s decision as
something she wanted, and found
hope in her ability to live on through
the people her organs would help.
“At the end of life, you can make really
beautiful gifts, so we’re hoping to get
something good out of an otherwise
tragic event,” said Dr. Jennifer Frontera,
the other co-chair of the Organ
Donor Council and the hospital’s chief
of neurology, in an interview.
The hospital also invited Robert
Seeback, a heart transplant recipient, to
speak at the ceremony and play guitar.
Seeback works with Transplant Recipients
International Organization (TRIO)
to advocate for organ donor registration.
“We tell people there are three
things you can do with your organs.
You can put them in the ground — put
a nice stone and some flowers next to it.
You can get cremated and put them in
an urn. Put them on a shelf. Or, you can
donate them, and give life to somebody
else,” he said.
Seeback became emotional as he described
how the heart from a 17-yearold
girl allowed him to continue to live
on and have twin boys afterward.
The end of the ceremony saw the
special flag raised at the entrance of
the hospital, heralding the official
start for the month.
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Victoria Merlino
The ceremony honored the beginning of Donate Life Month.
Bensonhurst resident reaches 106 through exercise
BY VICTORIA MERLINO
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
She was born the year the
Titanic sank. Now at 106, Bensonhurst
resident Goldie Sohn
is still going strong. The secret to
Sohn’s longevity?
According to her, it’s exercise.
Sohn celebrated her birthday
with family, friends and festivities
in a party at the Shore Hill Neighborhood
Center, 9000 Shore Road,
on April 11. The event was led by two
programs Sohn is heavily involved
with: Seniors in Touch, an adult day
program operated by the Family
Health Centers at NYU Langone, and
New York Road Runners (NYRR), an
organization devoted to getting New
York City residents up and active
across the five boroughs.
Before the party, Sohn attended
her weekly workout with NYRR,
during which she and other seniors
sat in chairs performing exercises
with the help of a coach.
Sohn is NYRR’s oldest participant.
She has been with the program since
2014 when she was 102, said Rachel
Pratt, senior vice president of Youth
and Community Services for NYRR.
She said 102 was a great age to start
moving and getting active. “Any time
is a great time to start to get active,”
Pratt said.
“At New York Road Runners, we
want people to be active for life, and
Miss Goldie really exemplifies that.
She’s 106 and she’s active and she’s
moving,” she said. NYRR gave Sohn
New Balance sneakers at the party,
symbolizing this.
Sohn loves the environment
NYRR and Seniors in Touch provide,
and will become upset if she cannot
attend their programs, according to
her daughter, Marilyn Fisher.
“I love coming here. The people.
They’re warm,” said Sohn. “I recommend
it very highly.”
Fisher explained in an interview
that her mother was born prematurely
and underweight, and that it
was amazing for her still to be alive
at 106, given her beginnings.
“She’s a strong lady. To me, she’s a
miracle,” Fisher said.
Kathleen Hopkins, vice president
of Community-Based Programs,
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone,
thanked Sohn for all she has
done with Seniors in Touch, and gave
Sohn a blanket from the program
and NYU Langone. Hopkins started
Seniors in Touch in 1988 with the
hope that it would be an outlet for
seniors to be social and engaged
while giving caregivers time for respite.
Sohn began with the program
in 2014.
“I’m just so thrilled for her,” Fisher
said about Sohn as friends gathered
to dance and celebrate in her honor.
“She loves this place. This is like home
to her.”
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Victoria Merlino
Goldie Sohn and daughter Marilyn Fisher.
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