By Janet Coulter, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, FCM

Bonnie Raitt won the 2023 Grammy Song of the Year Award for her song “Just Like That.” The song spotlights organ donations and transplants.

Bonnie stated her song was inspired by the love, grace, and generosity of someone who donates their loved one’s organs to help another person live. This song evokes a deep emotional response from me. You see, I feel a real connection with donors and transplants as my husband had a liver transplant.

“Just Like That” is based on an emotional first encounter between a woman and the man who received her son’s heart. It’s a heart-wrenching story. She lost her son years before. The man is alive because of the precious donation from her son and thanks her for giving life to both of them. The woman has been feeling grief and a sense of guilt at the loss of her son, suffering the pain of a loss that has not healed. The man offers her the chance to listen to her son’s heartbeat and the woman tearfully lays her head on his chest and listens. The encounter seems to bring peace to the woman as she could feel a connection with her son. It reminds me of a quote from Helen Keller, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

The United States reached a historic milestone of over one million transplants since the first transplant was done in 1954. Today, there are more than 100,000 men, women and children on the national organ transplant waiting list. Between January and November 2022, 19,482 donors led to 39,241 transplants. As a Transplant Case Manager, I know there are always more people waiting for transplants than there are organs available. Sometimes, the gift of life takes too long to arrive. Unfortunately, in 2021, 6,268 people died waiting for a transplant. The number decreased in 2022 as 4,721 people died waiting for a transplant. As of January 2023, 104,878 people need an organ transplant in the United States. The good news is the number of people signed up as donors has increased and the number of donated organs is increasing. Thousands of Americans are alive today because they received a transplant. By offering a second chance at life, organ donators truly are “heroes.”

I am forever grateful for the gift of life given to my husband. It is one of the greatest gifts of all! I am also grateful to Bonnie Raitt for bringing attention and increased awareness to organ donations. Her motivation to support organ donation and transplants is much appreciated.

I hope you are moved and inspired by Bonnie Raitt’s song "Just Like That". Click here for the official lyrics video so you can listen to this incredible song or read the lyrics below:

Just Like That

I watched him circle 'round the block
Finally stopped at mine
Took a while before he knocked
Like all he had was time
Excuse me, ma'am, maybe you can help
The directions weren't so clear
I'm looking for Olivia Zand
They said I might find her here

What she's got, he's looking for?

Said there's somethin' I think she'd want to know

Well, I looked real hard and asked him

Said there's somethin' I think she'd want to know
And I let him in the door
It's not like me to trust so quick
Caught me by surprise
But somethin' about him gave me ease
Right there in his eyes

And just like that, your life can change
If I hadn't looked away
My boy might still be with me now
He'd be twenty-five today
No knife can carve away the stain
No drink can drown regret
They say Jesus brings you peace and grace
Well, he ain't found me yet

He sat down and took a deeper breath
And looked right in my face
I heard about the son you lost
How you left without a trace
I've spent years just trying to find you
So I could finally let you know
It was your son's heart that saved me
And a life you gave us both

And just like that your life can change
Look what the angels send
I lay my head upon his chest
And I was with my boy again
Well, I spent so long in darkness
I never thought the night would end
But somehow, grace has found me
And I had to let him in

Writer/s: Bonnie Raitt
Publisher: Bluewater Music Corp.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Bio: Janet Coulter, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, FCM, is a transplant case manager with a wide variety of experiences including educator, administrator, team leader, and Director of Case Management. Janet holds a Master of Science in Nursing from West Virginia University and a Master of Science in Adult Education from Marshall University. She has published many articles in CMSA Today and the Professional Case Management Journal and served as a reviewer for the Core Curriculum for Case Management Third Edition. She currently serves as Chair of the CMSA Today Editorial Board and Secretary of the CMSA Foundation board. Janet was the recipient of the CMSA National Award of Service Excellence and Southern Ohio Valley CMSA Case Management Leadership award and was recently inducted as a Case Management Fellow from CMSA.

April is National Donate Life Month. Give the gift of life today. Go to organdonor.gov to sign up!

Janet is presenting at the 2023 CMSA Annual Conference in Las Vegas with the concurrent session "Leadership: Generational Diversity in the Workplace", Wednesday, June 28 at 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM and the poster "Unconscious Bias: Do You Know What Influences You?", Wednesday, June 28 at 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM. Don't miss them! Explore more #CMSA2023 sessions in the conference schedule and then register to secure the early bird rate: https://cmsa.societyconference.com/conf/#sessions/conf10003