Growing up, David was a pleasant, kind and gentle child who laughed often and adored his siblings. Our David matured into a loving young man who enjoyed listening to music, spending time with his girlfriend and hoped to explore Aviation and the Air Force. We were so excited for what David’s future held.
September 14, 2011 is the day I refer to as “the day I got my smile back.” On that day, I underwent brain surgery to help alleviate symptoms of a Chiari Malformation, which occurs when the cerebellum (at the back part of the brain) slips from the skull and into the spinal column.
I never thought my son’s first day of school would entail him proudly showing off his transplant scar and talking about his organ donor. When Hunter was just 18 months old, he wasn’t growing normally and had a hard lump near his stomach. Doctors diagnosed him with Alpha-1 Anti Trypsin Deficiency, a genetic disorder that causes the liver to fail. Over the next year, Hunter lost weight, built up fluid in his stomach and his liver began to deteriorate.
By: John Afek
My son and I were driving along High Street together in 2005 when I felt the pain. I knew something was wrong in my chest and drove immediately to the emergency room at Riverside Methodist Hospital. Medical testing found 95 percent blockage in my heart arteries. Five years, three heart attacks and one Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) diagnosis later, my doctors at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center Ross Heart Hospital declared that my heart was failing. I would need a heart transplant from a donor to survive.
By: Jim Pepper
The day I got a new life, October 21, 2012, is a day I now consider my re-birthday and my miracle. I received a life-saving double-lung transplant that day to treat Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, an incurable disease. Without a transplant, I wouldn’t be here to celebrate any birthdays, let alone my own.
By: Matt Cafarelli
In March 2003, during the Ohio State University men’s lacrosse season opener against Navy, I injured my right knee. I came off of a pick and planted my knee to change directions, when another player ran directly into my knee from the side. I felt a pop in my right knee and immediately knew something was wrong. Doctors later confirmed I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and would need surgery to play competitively again. Thanks to donor tissue, I was able to get through the long road of recovery and rejoin the team.
By Melissa Ramey
We typically think of heroes as people who save people from burning buildings. For me, heroes are found in more unlikely places. My two heroes, my hero of donation and my best friend, saved my life.
By: Becky Miller, donor sister
The last time I spoke to my brother was to wish him a Happy 26th Birthday on July 7, 1997. Two days later, after lifting weights at the local Y, he was riding his motorcycle to meet friends for a basketball game when a 16-year-old girl turned left in front of him. She hadn’t seen his motorcycle. He was air lifted to a hospital in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where the doctors explained to us that he was brain dead. When asked if he was a registered organ donor, we didn’t know his wishes, but we knew it was the right thing to do.
By Morgan (Mathews) Mersy, liver recipient
My parents knew from the time I was an infant that I would need a transplant. I was born in 1981 with a rare genetic disorder that affected my liver. This was a time before transplantation was common, and my parents did everything they could to keep me healthy (more…)
A butterfly says, “The caterpillar-me is history; my metamorphosis, a mystery; and today…today is a present; my struggle gifted me.” (Manali Oak)
For the last few years, a caterpillar determined to get through the challenges and struggles ahead to change into a beautiful butterfly has been symbolic of my life story.
By: Phil and Margaret Petrosky
As we mark our 10 year anniversary of working at Lifeline of Ohio’s Dash for Donation, we invite you to join us to be part of the inspiration for organ, eye, and tissue donation in downtown Columbus on Saturday morning, July 13.
