In my eyes, being a donor is one of the most selfless, compassionate things a person can do. Whether it’s blood donation or whole body donation and everything in between, it makes you a hero in my book. The thing I love most about donors is that they get to help so many other people continue to live.
Tim was a donor. He always used to say he wished he could donate his brain to science so they could maybe figure out what was actually wrong with him. Though we couldn’t actually make those wishes come true, he was able to make other people’s wishes come true. For those of you that were fortunate enough to know Tim, you know that he was so kind and always wanted to help others when he could. Whether you were the homeless guy needing a haircut in the park or a lifelong friend, Tim always wanted to help. It was one of the many things I loved about him.
Whether it was by coincidence or serendipity, on the mark of his 10 months of being gone, we received word regarding a few recipients of Tim’s whole body donation. They were able to provide one of his cornea’s to a 56 year old man and his other cornea to another male (age unknown). His saphenous vein (a long blood vessel in the leg) was implanted in a recipient in LaMesa, CA in December and saved a limb from amputation due to an infection. His femoral artery and his heart valve patch graft were both implanted as well, but they couldn’t provide any information on the recipients. They did share that often times the femoral arteries are needed for dialysis patients, to protect their vessels from the repeated infusions. Heart patches are life changing because they help patients of all ages, closing holes in neonate hearts and patching weakened areas in adult hearts in danger of failure.
Even though Tim has left this dimension and he is no longer physically here, someone is walking because of him, someone is seeing better because of him, someone’s heart is going to beat longer, because of him. He continues to live on through each and every recipient of his selfless donation.
Life is wild and the universe throws us for loops all the time. I was a blood donor for many years to suddenly become a recipient. Those donors saved my life. Tim’s donation is helping save other’s lives. Being a donor is a wonderful gift that you can give for free to people in need. You can be a hero, just like Tim. If you aren’t a donor, please consider being one. You have no idea how much of an impact you could have on other people. You can save lives by being a donor.
Give love, give life!
Great article Kristy! My life was saved through a donation like Tim's. It is a wonderful, thoughtful and fantastic gift of Life that he gave of himself.