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Donating blood may be the simplest way to save a stranger’s life and Waxahachie, Texas, Officer James “J.T.” Taylor aims to have donated 50 gallons before year’s end. In this Wellness Brief, Emily Hitchings and Greg Friese unpack how stage-4 testicular cancer propelled Taylor’s mission and what it teaches every responder about resilience.
“This is the epitome of taking a really scary, terrible situation, turning it into something good,” Hitchings said, praising Taylor’s decision to repay the countless units he received during surgery. Hitchings frames Taylor’s drive as textbook post-traumatic growth, which is the positive psychological change that can follow a crisis, especially when a person is already mission-oriented.
Many cops and firefighters, Hitchings notes, channel line-of-duty injuries, family illness or partner loss into charitable causes. Doing so can reframe pain as purpose, improve agency morale and strengthen community ties.
“We cannot go back and change the things that happened to us,” Hitchings said. “So the only thing we can do is find a way to move forward.”
Friese adds that Taylor’s public blood drives ripple far beyond one pint of donated blood. Each donation may help one or more patients, magnifying the officer’s impact across an entire region.
“There are cops all over the country who have made their personal mission to give back to their community in ways that aren’t even related to public safety.”
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH | Why storytelling is key to police wellness
About The Brief: Wellness Edition
The Brief: Wellness Edition video series explores the wellness implications of current events for public safety professionals. Each episode brings a timely conversation that connects unfolding events to the day-to-day realities of first responders.
