Hello everyone!
I am Kelsey Lauren Cho.
Guess what?
I was just released from the hospital again two weeks ago.
Currently, my body may still be experiencing liver rejection.
And why?
Let's start from the beginning.
I was born in Alaska, US
on January 13th, 1993.
When I was eight, I came back to Taiwan.
I now study in the NTNU Senior High School.
What sets me apart from others is that
I'd undergone a liver transplant when I was eleven-months-old.
When my mom was pregnant with me,
doctors found that I had a severe case of Intestinal Atresia.
It caused an accumulation of abdominal fluid
so severe that it was suppressing my heart.
Because of this, I was born two months premature.
Immediately after I was born, I underwent surgery
to remove the infected part of my intestines and to relieve the fluid buildup.
Not long after my operation, the doctors found it strange
that my jaundice didn't go away.
Instead, my skin turned more and more yellow.
So why was that happening?
Further tests showed that I had a condition called "congenital biliary atresia".
so then my doctors performed the "Kasai Procedure" on me,
which is an operation to artificially widen my bile ducts
so to unblock them.
However,
the operation failed.
The doctor told my mother,
"The only way to save your daughter now is if she has a liver transplant"
Unfortunately, my parent weren't able to be my donor.
So, I became one of the patients on the liver transplant waiting list.
Exactly how long will it take to get a new liver?
In this long period on the waiting list,
I can't remember how many times I'd nearly died.
And no one knew how long I could live.
No one knew when I might die.
Imagine this scenario where
your child gets sicker and sicker every day
and there is very little you can do.
Fortunately, one day we got a phone call.
"We found your daughter a match!"
A suitable liver donor was found.
That was how I got a new life.
This is what I looked like before the liver transplant.
Yesterday, Yosifu said that his skin color is sweet honey brown.
I think mine was pumpkin yellow.
And this is what I looked like after the transplant.
But my story doesn't just end here.
Having a new liver doesn't mean I was fully recovered
or that I can be healthy from here onwards.
In the past 17 years, my body has been rejecting my new liver.
It's probably because this liver is just not mine!
Yeah...
With this transplant comes problems like rejection,
auto-immunity, and joint pains.
The number of hospital trips taken is like for others heading to supermarkets.
Every time I went to draw blood,
the nurse would say,
"Hey Kelsey, you're here!"
These three doctors are like my second family.
My attending physician Dr. Nee,
has been looking after me for over ten years.
Since my childhood,
I have been in and out of hospitals. Whenever I feel a little better,
I went to console other children staying at the hospital.
I also reached out to their parents.
Because of these visits, in April of last year,
I met a little girl who had the same medical condition as me.
Her name is Yu-Fei,
and she was three-months-old at the time.
Last November, she went through a liver transplant.
This is what she looked like after the surgery.
That was when I found out that
just my companionship alone
can bring hope to others.
It's like a ray of light.
If I can bring people hope simply by lending my hand,
shouldn't I be more active
in advocating a caring movement?
Now, countless people are on the waiting list for organ transplants,
but only a handful of people donate.
We have to understand that,
each one of us here in this room
may one day need organ transplants.
There is no way to guarantee that we aren't the next ones.
Let's take a look at some stats.
Currently, there are 115,613 people around the world who need organ transplants,
but there are only 6,930 donors.
In Taiwan, there are close to 8,000 patients who need organ transplants,
but only 135 donors.
If we focus on a particular region,
in norther Taiwan, there are 3,609 patients who need organ transplants,
but only 58 donors.
These stats are a bit disappointing.
This is the same feeling I have every time I return to the hospital.
With every trip to the hospital,
I have mixed feelings.
Will my body experience rejection again this time?
or will I be auto-immuned?
At times I thought I might need to go through another liver transplant.
But then later on I discovered that
there is no point in worrying.
Worrying won't make things better.
Worrying sometimes even make things worse.
So, I've learned to take on an optimistic attitude,
a "go-with-the-flow" attitude
to face all problems.
Because I regained a new life through organ transplant,
I especially value life.
This year alone, I've heard many incidents of teens committing suicide.
Their reasons are often at times ridiculous.
Besides my health condition,
I have encountered other problems just like anyone else.
For example, when I first moved back to Taiwan,
I had to adjust to a new environment.
a "culture shock"
and my parent's divorce, etc.
I can still remember telling my mom
my initial impression of Taiwan:
"Wow, everyone has black hair here!"
My black hair in US
was quite rare.
"appreciate and cherish life"
At time we may think that
life is pretty dull.
But, we shouldn't give up
whenever we encounter difficulties.
Our life is supposed to be rich with colors.
The two questions I asked most often when I was little were
"Why?"
and the other, "Why me?"
but later on I thought,
when we're left with no alternatives,
let's try to bring out the best
under the current circumstances.
After all, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass"
"but learning how to dance in the rain."
My mother always said to me
every time when I was sick and hospitalized,
"You can do it."
So I would like everyone here to repeat after me,
"You can do it!"
Again. "You can do it!"
After all these years,
I really think we should focus on these two issues.
So I've conducted a research.
On average, 18 people die every day because they didn't receive organ transplants.
But you know what?
Each one of us can bring hope to 8 people.
And my hope,
my greatest hope is to
encourage more and more people to become organ donors.
Let more people have a chance to live because of the transplants.
Let more families benefit because of these actions.
I also want to speak for
those who are in the same boat with me,
to let everyone know that
"We are here, and we exist."
This picture of me was when I was four-years-old.
I went to the US Congress representing Alaska
to advocate the importance of organ donation.
What I want to say is,
nothing is impossible
if only you believe.
To the folks here, you can change the world right here, right now.
Each of you should have an organ donation consent form.
If you sign it today,
you can be an organ donor
just like me.
You can bring hope to 8 people,
and benefit 8 families.
Like the quote from Gandhi,
"Be the change you want to see in the world"
Be the change.
You can make a difference.
Why?
Because I've just made everyone say
"you can do it", right?
So, say it again.
"You can do it."
Tell the person on your right, "You can do it."
Tell the person on your left, "You can do it."
Now do you believe you can do it?
Do you?
Good.
The future is now,
Let's make the change together.
I am Kelsey Lauren Cho.
Thank you.