I am  humbled by some of the amazing people whose lives have been touched by donation.  The following poem was written by a donor family member after hearing some of the stories at a ceremony we hold annually to honor organ, eye and tissue donors and their families.  When she emailed the poem, she mentioned one story in particular that touched her – the story of a young heart recipient, Kaidence.  I will post Kaidence’s story later and share it with each of you. 

In the email that accompanied this poem, the author mentioned that Kaidence’s family never imagined they would need the gift of donation to save their daughter’s life.  Likewise, she could have never imagined they would be in position to be offering the gift of donation.  Life can be unexpected.

Here is her amazing poem…

Be a Donor?
Sure I’ll sign the card.
Not planning on leaving right away….
Not me.
Not now.
Not anytime soon.
Not me…. 

Then… a challenge comes
Suddenly… unexpectedly… without warning….
Out-of-the-blue…
Life changes.
Bleakness, desperation… hopelessness…
Never to be the same….
Living, Doing, Being… Altered…
Without help from Someone.
Overwhelmed and so very anxious. 

Me?
Right now?
So soon?
I need a Donor? 

Then… a Gift given
Suddenly, unexpectedly, with great care, love, grace and thoughtfulness….
Out-of-the blue…
A Donor.
Encouragement, Peace… Hope…
Restored.
Living, Doing, Being… Renewed…
With help from Someone… Someone able to give such a Gift.
Blessed and so very grateful. 

Me. You.
Sign the Card.
Save a life.
Be a Donor.

Maureen Einfeldt

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to learn about a boy named Adam. 

Adam passed away as a result of an automobile accident in 1995.  He was only 9 years old.  Adam’s parents, though they had never discussed donation, made the decision to donate Adam’s organs and help others who were in need.  They also made another difficult decision.  They decided to share Adam’s story in an effort to help others faced with a similar choice.  A 1996 newspaper article credits their willingness to share Adam’s story with, “helping to increase the number of organ donations in Utah to its highest rate in four years.”  It is amazing the impact one person can have. 

A Salt Lake man who heard Adam’s story wrote a poem and mailed it anonymously to Adam’s father.  That poem can still be found on the University of Michigan Transplant Center Website. 

That incredible poem reads:

To Dad and Mother

I am looking down on earth from here
And I see what you have done
You helped a lot of people
I am proud to be your son
It took a lot of moxie
To give up part of me
But my heart now beats for someone
And someone else can see
I would like to spend a lot of time
Just watching what they do
And if they did some splendid thing
I’d think I did it too
I still don’t know if this was planned
I kinda think it was
I surely hope that that’s the case
And my life was for that cause
I would love to be with you again
To ease your sorrowing
But if it meant retrieve my parts
I wouldn’t change a thing

Your loving son,

Adam
December 19, 1985 – May 22, 1995

 
By,
RBG

It has been almost 16 years.  They have had contact with many of Adam’s recipients and one of the recipients even named his son Adam in honor of the boy who saved his life.  Adam’s family still finds comfort in knowing that Adam was able to save lives.  Adam’s grandma told me, “Every time I read in the newspaper that someone was a donor, I know someone else will live because of that decision.”

Today I attended a press conference at the Utah Department of Health.  Utah was recently honored for the superior performance of its donor registry at the National Learning Congress for the Donation and Transplantation Community.  Only six states received this honor.  The medal was presented to the Utah Driver License Division for their outstanding support of organ donation.

The award was presented to Nannette Rolfe, Director of the Driver License Division, by Dr. David Sundwall, Executive Director of the Department of Health. 

Sheila Baxter also spoke about how organ donation has affected her life.  Many years ago, one of her aunts donated a kidney to another aunt who was in kidney failure and she made the decision at that time to be an organ donor. 

Several years later, Sheila’s son Tyler turned 16 years old and she went with him to get his driver license.  Tyler asked his mom about organ donation and they discussed what this meant.  Tyler decided that organ donation was a good thing and he marked yes on his license.  Three short years later, Tyler was involved in a fatal accident.  Sheila stated that she was grateful Tyler had made that decision on his license as this would have been a difficult decision to make otherwise.  Sheila then thanked the Driver License Division for all of their hard work.

This is what the registry is all about.  It is so important to mark yes on your driver license or online at www.yesutah.org so that if something happens to you, your family is not put in the position of making a very difficult decision at an even more difficult time.  Thanks Utah Driver License Division for all that you do.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a sweet woman named Betty.  We talked about her husband, Jim, who was a cornea donor when he passed away last year.  It was an honor for me to talk with her about Jim.  It is always humbling for me when I hear someone express joy for the recipients whose lives are better because of their loved one’s gift.

Jim and Betty had been married just one day short of 52 years when he passed away.  He was 71 years old.  I could feel her love for him come through as she told me about him.  She told me that Jim had moved to Utah from Indiana when he was only 17 years old.  It took a lot of courage for him to move out here by himself at such a young age,  but he wanted to join the ROTC program at the University of Utah.  They met when he was 19 and she was 18.  Together they built a life together and had three children

When Jim passed away, Betty she was asked about cornea donation.  She knew he had ‘donor’ on his driver license and she readily agreed.  “Before this, I didn’t realize how valuable donation was, but now I say take what is needed when I am gone.  Two people can see because of Jim,” she said.

 “He came with nothing and he left being honored on a monument,” she told me, referring to the Celebration of Life Donor Monument on Library Square that honors organ, eye, tissue, blood and living donors.  She took a picture of his name on the Monument to remind her and their children of this selfless act.

This poem was written by six year old Tryn Bailey in memory of his father.  It is really beautiful.

TOGETHER WE CAN…SAVE LIVES 

BY TRYN BAILEY 

MY DADDY’S NOT HERE

HE LEFT ME LAST YEAR.

HIS HEART WAS SO BAD

HE HAD TO BE SAD.

BUT HEAVENLY FATHER SAID.

“YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME.”

SO HE LEFT HIS ORGANS

 SO OTHER PEOPLE DON’T DIE.

NOW HE’S MY HERO

BECAUSE HE’S STILL ALIVE.

IF WE ALL GAVE OUR ORGANS

WHEN WE HAVE TO GO,

THEN WE WOULD BE HERO’S

AND OTHER PEOPLE WON’T DIE.

TOGETHER WE CAN ALL DO THE SAME

SO SOMBODY ELSE’S DADDY

WON’T HAVE TO GO.

This letter was written by a mother to her son’s kidney recipient.  With her permission, we have chosen to share this letter in our blog.

My name is Cynthia and I am the mother of Tyrando, whom you received the kidney from.  Although the tragic loss of my son is so heartbreaking, and it still seems so unreal that he is no longer with me in this life, but I know in my heart he is with me in spirit.  I am truly honored on his behalf to have been able to give life to others that are in need.  My son left this life on June 3^rd at the age of 19, and I miss him dearly.  God has blessed you and your family, and that gives me hope and comfort that parts of my son still lives in other people.  I pray that your recovery is successful and you are able to get back in the yard and do the things that you used to do, because being on dialysis isn’t fun for anyone.  In exchange for the gift that was given to you, all I ask is for you to pray for strength for me, his father, and his 2 sisters (age 20 and 8).  God is granting me strength every day so I can take care of some of my son’s unfinished business and bring those things to closure before I return back to work on July 28^th.  He served proudly in the United States Air Force and they have made this whole transition painless by being so accommodating to us because of the pain that we already endure.  The organ that you have received is truly anointed because my son was a True child of God.  May God continue to bless you and your family as you venture on with your new found life that my son has given you.  Take care and get well soon!  I am responding to the letter that was forwarded to me from the Donor Services.

Cynthia

Sunday is Valentine’s Day!  Hopefully that news doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone.  The thing about this time of year is that just about everything is suddenly available shaped as a heart.  We totally use this shape to represent love.  Variations to the traditional heart bring up images of heartache, or new love with Cupid and his quiver of arrows.  It’s fun and romantic to think of the heart that way.

A posting on a bulletin board I saw recently caused me to stop and reflect on the significance of our heart driven traditions.  On the board, there was a picture of a human heart next to a traditional valentine’s heart.  The caption underneath read, “Which one would you rather receive for Valentine’s Day?”  Interesting question!

The traditional valentine’s heart was definitely more attractive and would be more appetizing with a box of chocolates, but what about the over 3,000 people in this country who are currently waiting for a heart transplant?  That healthy human heart is probably the most beautiful thing in the world to them.  A box of chocolates and a pretty card hold little value when you are fighting for your own life. 

Show your love this Valentine’s Day.  Make sure you get registered as an organ, eye and tissue donor.  Log on to the Yes! Utah Donor Registry website  and click the “Register Now” button.