They Really ARE “Good”!

I hate it when my husband is right.  Especially when he’s right about something that doesn’t put me in the best light. You may recall last month that I wrote about the growing interest in brain tissue donation, to be utilized for M.S. research.  The hubby teased me, saying that when I called the repository, offering my brain (or at least its tissue) upon my death, the folks there would say, “Ah, thanks, but we’re good,” indicating that my brain wasn’t repository-worthy.

I then called the repository in Chicago, the closest to my home, and they indicated I’d be receiving the necessary forms to begin the process. HA! They DO want my brain! Weeks went by and no forms arrived.  Don’t they want my brain tissue? I thought.   I got my answer last week.

I made my routine call to the house on my drive home from work.  The hubby told me the repository had called.  “Yeah!” I responded.  He started to laugh hysterically.  “What’s so funny?” I shouted over the noise from the car’s open roof.  He replied, “Sunshine, they said, ‘no thanks, we’re good’!”   “Not funny”, I grumbled.

He insisted he was being honest, indicating he wasn’t suffering from ‘jiggy-face’.  This is my own personal term, created to describe how I know when the hubby and many others in my life are fibbing to me.  You’ve seen jiggy-face in your own worlds.  A person’s lip quivers, they appear as if they are hiding a smirk, their eyes sparkle with deception.  Jiggy-face.  Without provocation he said, “I don’t have jiggy-face!  See for yourself when you get home.  I saved the message for you.”

Sure enough, the message implied, in the nicest of ways, that the Chicago repository is indeed ‘good’ and they don’t want my tissue.  The only difference in the message translation lay with the reason the repository is ‘good’.  It’s not because my brain is unworthy, but rather it’s because of where I live.  Apparently I’m too far from Chicago and will need referred to another repository – either in Colorado or Los Angeles.  Don’t these people have a map? Don’t they know that Pennsylvania is a hop, skip, and a jump from Illinois and a lifetime away from the other locations?  Aren’t they the ones who told me my family would only have a matter of hours to get my doctors to transport my brain tissue after my death? 

My irritation waned and I talked with the good folks in Chicago. They are a new repository and their capacities are limited at this point.  They are serving folks closest to their location until they can grow and expand.  Apparently there is an onslaught of interest in brain tissue donation and that’s a good problem to have.  They would be worse off if folks were disinterested in organ or tissue donation.

So, it’s back to the drawing table.  I feel as if I’m part of a dating service, just waiting for the next rejection call, or worse, no call at all.  I need to research the other repositories and choose between the Rockies and the heart of Hollywood.  Then I’ll make the call and hope my choice does indeed want my brain.

If for no other reason, I must prove the hubby wrong!