I got to a point where kind of a oneness with everything and a great compassion. It teaches you compassion. It was a great, enlightening experience, a spiritual experience. Not particularly religious, but spiritual. It was great. I can still go there.
I had a real epiphany. I guess it was during and after the operation. I did what's a common thing; I kind of raised above the table and could look at me and listen to all the people talking and understand what they were saying and so forth.
People who are living donors who give kidneys. You can't give a heart and you can't give a liver, but you can sure give a lung - well, kidneys, anyhow. And that's where the main part of this whole thing is - one out of every eight people, I believe, is going to have some kind of kidney problem during their lifetime.
I often ask people if they would like to give their organs when they pass on, and they say "Well, I'm not so sure, I don't know." And I said, "Well, would you accept one if you needed one?" "Well, yeah, sure." And I say "Well, there you go - where do you get them from?".
A lot of times I talk to people, they say they don't trust the doctors, they don't trust the hospitals and that kind of stuff. Well, if you go to the hospital, you've got to trust somebody.
All my heroes, I guess, like John Wayne and all those guys, they drank and they smoked and did all the manly things. It was expected of you. And now abstinence in all kinds of forms is a part of living. It's a pretty - I don't smoke anymore, I quit that 42 years ago
Five hundred thousand Americans die from tobacco poisoning every year, and it's legal. I don't know, it just that's the - you can't stop giving people organs because of bad behavior. If you keep on having bad behavior, then of course they'll deny you a liver, or whatever you need.
I drank my liver out.
Follow AzQuotes on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Every day we present the best quotes! Improve yourself, find your inspiration, share with friends
or simply: