Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle often
Made pitchers quiver ---
The only thing he damaged more (with
Booze) was his own liver.
But Mantle got a new one at 64. The
Harm was far greater
From his cancer than was feared: he
Died two months later.
Dick Cheney’s heart problems began
In his thirties. They were no joke
But he didn’t exercise, often overate
And he also was known to smoke.
Cheney got a new heart this year at 71.
Grumbling still does persist
That suggests his name perhaps unfairly
Moved up the transplant list.
Their behavior didn’t help their conditions.
My thoughts are unswerving
That other transplant seekers quite arguably
Were far more deserving.
This explains why 23-year-old Paul Corby
Should receive a new heart:
Being autistic shouldn’t stop him from getting
A coronary fresh start.
If you draw the line at autism, what’s next?
Should a transplant application sour
If a person in need is often drunk with drink
Or perhaps just drunk with power?
(Other folks who got organs and delayed
Becoming a premature cadaver? It
Includes car designer Carroll Shelby and
Robert Altman, a Hollywood maverick.)
And was 70-year-old Bobby Rydell recently kicked
To the curb and given a shove?
Nope. He got a new liver & kidney from a hospital
In the City of Brotherly Love.
When times are tough, hospitals should whenever
They can try to be frugal. It
Shouldn’t mean only helping those whose names
Get the most hits if you Google it.
It also shouldn’t be the case with organ donors
And how the doctors select them
That someone is automatically disqualified if
They’re on the autism spectrum.
