L comes before S in the alphabet. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, Logan comes before Shannon.
Yesterday, while researching for an essay I'm trying to write, (It. Is. A. Mess. Apologies to Nicole who I've tasked with reading it.) I realized it was the five year anniversary of the day I learned I was cleared to be Derek's liver donor. I am fully aware this is the five year anniversary of … Continue reading The Anxiety Anniversary
In Season 2, Episode 5 of The Good Place (I know what you're thinking: "Oh for pete's sake, is she talking about this show AGAIN?" Yes. Yes I am.) "The Trolley Problem" Michael transports Eleanor and Chidi to a physical trolley in order to act out this ethical thought problem: You see a runaway trolley moving toward … Continue reading First, Do the Least Amount of Harm
They say laughter is the best medicine, but what if it hurts to laugh? What if your whole body feels the blows as your gut wiggles and jiggles with every chuckle? When my abdomen was cut open, through skin and fat and muscle and then stitched back together, I finally realized how much I engage … Continue reading A Little Bit About Pain & Laughter & Smell
Waiting for an organ transplant is not like other kinds of waiting. It's not like waiting for a prescription to get filled, or waiting for your turn at the post office. It's not like waiting for a wound to heal, or a plane to arrive, or a cake to bake. It's not like waiting for … Continue reading Stop Waiting, Start Living
(This is a warning of sorts to say there will often be times when I repeat a theme or a thought because I am trying to come at it from another angle. I not going to bother to look at a potentially similar previous post so I don't get suckered into saying the same thing. … Continue reading Deciding to Decide
In 2015, the one year anniversary of giving part of my liver to my husband snuck up on us. We didn't plan for it, we both went to work and we both felt angry. Mostly because neither of us had really properly processed what we'd gone through the year before. We did a very good … Continue reading Walking, Then Food, Then More Walking
It's been four years since I donated 60% of my liver to my husband. A gift that would ultimately have to be replaced, but which kept him alive for thirty days until a new one arrived. The first year we celebrated this anniversary was hard. Something about how you don't know how stressful a situation … Continue reading Four Years Ago
I forgot to post yesterday and I'm beating myself up about it, but I'm going to double up today and schedule something for the weekend to make up for it. So why did I forget? Yesterday I decided to barf out a bunch of sentences with no real thought of where to begin or where … Continue reading Embracing Mistakes
This started out as a regular old post, but then I decided to make it a Twitter thing. And then I thought it might be easier to see it here too. I am nothing if not indecisive. Also it looks terrible on my home page and don't know how to fix that problem, but maybe … Continue reading A Tweet Storm in Honor of National Donor Day
I keep trying to write about how it’s weird I was able to volunteer for major abdominal surgery when I wasn’t sick, and have a fairly intense fear of needles and hospitals, but it winds up sounding like I’m fishing for compliments. Like when a person interviewing for a job asks: “What’s your biggest weakness?” … Continue reading People Pleaser
Logan M. Shannon 