Another Person Who Mattered ... a whole lot.

Her name was Sandra Jensen and she was an advocate for people with disabilities. She was a public speaker and her words were eloquent; her throughts expressed with depth and understanding of not only her own limitations but her vast abilities. Sandra was also the first person with Down syndrome ever to receive a heart and lung transplant.

It wasn't easy. She was denied the life-saving surgery by several hospitals in California. They thought her life wasn't as important as someone "normal" or "smarter." Of course, they never said that out loud. They didn't have to. It was too obvious. A man named Dr. William Bronston, spoke up on Sandra's behalf. A state rehabilitation administrator, Bronston exposed the small-mindedness of small-minded doctors.

A tiny uproar ensued and got a little bigger until the California Assembly took notice of Sandra Jensen who wanted nothing more than a shot at a longer life. A bill was passed that would keep dumb doctors from discriminating against disabled people who need transplants.

Not only did Sandra Jensen get her heart and lung transplant, she became a hero in the process. She also got a 16 month lease on life. When she passed away at the age of 36 it was from neurological complications.

It doesn't matter so much to me that Sandra died a year and a half after her transplants. It's how she lived that inspires. As I said, she was an eloquent speaker. She talked about what it was like to have Down syndrome, how people looked at her. And she spoke of her triumphs. But in an interview with her I read in Good Housekeeping in 1997 (the year she died) she said something that broke my heart and continues to break it everytime I remember.

(Paraphrasing) - she said that sometimes she had dreams that she was normal and she'd run and dance and be really smart and happy and then she'd wake up and realize that she had Down syndrome and be returned to a life lived with limitations.

Sandra Jensen pushed past her limitations to declare to anyone who would listen that she was worthy of a new heart and lungs. She told us that she mattered.

No kidding.