August 23, 2018
Any time Alison Benson can bring a sense of comfort and redemption to a family, it’s a good day.
That’s because the most difficult part of her job is giving bad news.
Alison is an emergency room doctor and knows first-hand how difficult it can be for loved ones to lose someone close to them.
On a regular basis, she sees people lose their life to vehicle accidents, among other causes.
So, when the opportunity arrived to raise awareness for something that provides comfort, she jumped at the idea.
More accurately, she danced.
Alison was challenged by Lincoln firefighter Christopher Gutierrez to complete the Kiki Challenge. Those who take on the challenge post a video of themselves dancing to rapper Drake’s single “In My Feelings.”
Alison originally saw Christopher’s Kiki Challenge, which raised awareness for blood donation. When he challenged her to complete her own, she chose to raise awareness for organ and tissue donation in honor of a recent Nebraska organ donor and in the hopes of making the cause more universal.
Even if someone is unable to donate blood, they are still encouraged to register as an organ and tissue donor.
“The worst part of my job is giving bad news,” Alison said. “I used this to turn it around. (Organ and tissue donation) is sometimes the only redemption and comfort for families” when accidents occur or loved ones must say goodbye, she added.
In her video, posted to Facebook on Aug. 15, Alison and Christopher can be seen dancing in an emergency room at Bryan Health in Lincoln, Neb. at 4 a.m. during a long night shift.
https://www.facebook.com/alison.benson.58/videos/10156698302064744/
“Spotlight” on Alison, the doctor and firefighter duo make hearts with their hands and pretend to drive a steering wheel, all while mouthing lyrics such as, “’Cause I want ya, and I need ya.”
When she posted her video, Alison agreed to donate $1 for every “like” her video received, up to $3,000 to Nebraska Organ Recovery.
Since then, her video has been viewed 40,000 times and has more than 500 shares. Alison dropped off her check to Nebraska Organ Recovery Aug. 21. She also brought another matched donation from a former hospital technician who saw the video and was inspired to give.
Her total came to $6,000.
“The best part about this is now hearing other people telling me their stories of donation since I posted the video,” she said. “There is a silver lining to this horrible tragedy.”