Major 1960s Event

Major 1960s Event

Introduction

The 1960s is a decade marked by many notable events in the history. The decade is famously known as “The Sixties”. It is also known as the decade of culture. One of the major events of the decade which has affected the global community and also my personal life is the first ever cardiac transplant operation which was done in South Africa by Professor Christian Barnard. This dates back to 1967 (Jurt, 2002). This is one of the major life saving operation for patients who are almost at the end of their life or are suffering from very severe form of coronary artery disease.

Difference in my life

My own life would have been very different if this heart transplant operation event did not take place back in the year 1967 as my father, who is the dearest to me, has survived the end stage heart failure as a result of the many developments in the heart failure operation strategies over the years. If it was not for the scientific development, I feel a sting to say, my father would not have been with us today.

My relationship with my father has always been very friendly. I am who I am today only because of my father. He has a major contribution in my upbringing. He has always stood by me and is a role model not only for me but for many of his friends and family members. Due to this event, I had the opportunity to afford the luxury to live with my father. The pain of the bereaved can be understood only by someone who has been through it himself. My eight year old cousin lost a sister due to congenital heart defect. She was too weak to survive the operation. Once she came to our place and asked, “If you have a sister and she dies, do you stop saying you have one? Or are you always a sister, even when the other half of the equation is gone?”

I have learnt many things from my father. Whenever I am faced with a stressful situation, I tell myself that I need to be strong and hold on. I realized that if you hold on long enough, you defeat the problem's ability to destroy you for they say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I saw my father struggle through the heart failure but remain composed. In addition, in my entire life I have never seen my father complain, not once. He always tells me that trying situations make us strong. They bring us closer to our Creator and help us value the most important blessing, Life. Hence, in my difficult times, I remain composed and follow in the footsteps of my father.

If it is one person who is responsible for keeping my family united, it has to be my father. We may have several disagreements and arguments, when it comes to the difficult times we are always one and we all stand ...