Right before Christmas, I had the opportunity to meet two great people.  Fapuiaki, a precocious four year old, and Marco, a motivated 20 year old.  I met them both at a local dialysis center.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for four hours, they are hooked up to a dialysis machine. For three years Marco has gone to dialysis at 5:30 am to begin his treatments. “It’s pretty tiring, especially working full time and going to college too,” says Marco. “I’m just hoping to get a transplant soon so I can get back to a more ‘normal life.’”

For Fapuiki’s parents, it has been a life changing event.  What is especially frustrating for Fapuiki’s father is he is not a match to donate a kidney to his daughter. “I thought it would be no problem, since, basically, she is a part of me. As a father, I want to do everything I can to help her get well. This really isn’t a way for anyone to spend their childhood.”

Eight years ago, the Good Samaritan Living Kidney Donor Program was started to help kids like Marco and Fapuiaki. Over 45 people have become living kidney donors thanks to that program.  Now with paired kidney exchanges, living kidney donors can have an even greater impact.

Go to yesutah.org to find out how you can help Fapuiaki and Marco celebrate next Christmas free from dialysis. Please think about becoming a living kidney donor.

“I’ve worked on Rose Parade floats for many years, but this is the first time I have had the opportunity to work on the Donate Life Float,” a man told me as he allowed me to hold a floragraph in place while he attached it to the float.  “This float is just incredible.  It has such meaning; I’ve never felt this with any other float.”

The feelings are strong in the Rosemont Pavilion where the Donate Life Float is stored while it is being decorated and prepped for the parade.  The Utah families, the Bryants, the Balls and the Newbolds, were given the opportunity to share their story on the Channel 7 news in California.  They placed a dedicated rose (captured on film by Scott Weersing and published in the Salt Lake Tribune) in honor of Caroline, who saved the lives of seven people after her own death, prepared flowers for placement on the float and exchanged stories with the many other families who traveled to Pasadena to honor a loved one or the donor who changed their lives. 

New Year’s morning found most of us sitting in the grandstands, waiting for the parade to begin.  Missing from the grandstand crowd were Tyla and Carter.  Tyla, Caroline’s liver recipient; and Carter, Caroline’s son, had the unique opportunity to ride the Donate Life Float.  They sat side by side, directly below the floragraph of Caroline.  Carter held a picture of his mother as they waved at the crowd.  In the grandstands, we received calls from friends and family still in Utah who were watching the parade on television.  They actually saw the float before it made it to where we were sitting.  Excitement filled the stands as the float slowly passed in front of our grandstands

The experience was summed up by a young mother I had the pleasure of meeting.  Her 6 year old son passed away unexpectedly and they made the decision to donate his organs.  “The atmosphere here has been great.  It is not a pity party even though we all have similar feelings of loss and pain.  It is a celebration of life, both for our loved ones who have passed on and those who are alive because of donation.”