Last fall, Marion Jones traveled to Beijing, China, where she toured the famous Forbidden City and walked along the Great Wall. Prior to her vacation, she took a Chinese language class at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) so she could more fully immerse herself in the culture. Reminiscing about the trip, Marion says simply, "I loved it!"
It's not surprising that the world traveler, who has also been to Africa, Europe and South America, relished the experience. The 68-year-old has a zest for living. Perhaps that's because she got a second chance at life in 1994 when she received a heart transplant. "I think it's the greatest gift," says Marion. "When it first happened, I just couldn't believe it. I kept thinking it's not going to last that long. And it's been 13 years."
During that time she has not only traveled abroad, but also served as president of a national teacher's sorority and taken lots of art classes at Tri-C, including water colors, oil painting, cartooning and black-and-white photography. "I have to keep busy," she says. "I don't know what I'd do if I had to just sit around."
Marion was working at West Tech High School in Cleveland, helping train students as daycare teachers. She spent most of her day at different daycare facilities where the students had on-the-job training. "But I was staying at the high school more and more because I was so tired," she recalls. She also was retaining fluids and had difficulty breathing.
In January 1994, Marion made a routine visit to a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic who treated her for diabetes. When she described her symptoms, he immediately sent her downstairs to a cardiologist. After a series of tests, including a cardiac catheterization, Marion was told her heart had deteriorated so much that she needed a transplant.
Marion went on the organ waiting list in February. Within two weeks, she received a donor heart. "I was never a sick person," says Marion. "I went all through elementary school, high school and college and never missed any days of school. I didn't catch any childhood diseases. I always ate right and wasn't stressed out. The doctors said there was nothing I could've done about my bad heart."
It was just a fluke that Marion contracted a virus that led to heart failure and her subsequent transplant. A happenstance that could strike anyone. That's one of the reasons she volunteers for LifeBanc, northeast Ohio's organ and tissue recovery agency. Marion wants to spread the message that any one of us could need a donor organ someday.
"I tell people as often as I can that I have a donor heart, and I ask them if they are registered as a donor," says Marion, who talks to students at schools about organ donation. "I think if you can be a donor, you should be."
Marion often shares her story with people in her African-American community, discrediting misconceptions about organ donation and encouraging people to register. The shortage in donations is particularly significant for minorities. For instance, thirty-five percent of the patients waiting for kidney transplants are African-American. And just one donor can save the lives of eight people.
Four years ago, Marion traveled to Senegal and Ghana. "Visiting Africa felt like I was going home," she says. "The whole continent was welcoming. I was comfortable and relaxed." She was also thankful that one family's decision to donate their loved one's heart allowed her to experience such a homecoming.
Currently, nearly 100,000 men, women and children in the United States and thousands in Ohio are waiting for a life-saving transplant. You can become a registered organ donor right now or by saying “yes” when renewing your driver license or state ID at the BMV.