|
|
|
| Mon, Nov. 30 - - Mobile - RSS | |
|
|
Survivors remember precious gifts of life HELPING OTHERS
Celebration honors organ donors, and their loved-ones.Date published: 11/17/2007 BY KATY BURNELL Thirteen years ago, Gary Scheer was given three weeks to live. Last night, the 26-year-old fire medic and distance runner from Spotsylvania County struggled to express his gratitude for the best gift that he ever received--the liver that made his appearance possible. The difficulty was understandable, considering that his crowd at Mary Washington Hospital included more than 100 survivors of people whose deaths saved the lives of organ recipients like Scheer. "It's so difficult to try and relate. How do you say thank you to someone on the other side?" Scheer said. According to one mother from the other side, Scheer's presence at last night's celebration of life in the Mary Washington Hospital atrium was more than enough. "He didn't even have to say anything. It's such a gift to just see him stand there and be healthy and happy," said Jan Broom, whose 23-year-old daughter, Shannon, became an organ donor in 1998. Broom started the event in 2001 to help the families of those who made lifesaving contributions cope with grief during the holiday season. "When your heart is broken, finding any way to celebrate the holidays is difficult," she said. Dena Reynolds coordinates events for donor families through LifeNet Health, a nonprofit organization that facilitates organ and tissue donation at over 80 hospitals in Virginia. She said grieving families need to reach out to each other during the holiday season. "It doesn't matter if their loved one died yesterday or 15 years ago," she said. "People need to know that they are not alone--especially during the holidays." The celebration has evolved from a small outdoor service to a catered event with live music and an overhead slide show of donor pictures that rotates as their names are read off one-by-one. "Donor families have been messaging each other back and forth on our message board about this all week," said Judy Hampton, a nurse in the hospital's pediatric unit who helped organize the event. Hampton spent all day last Sunday, her daughter Terri's birthday, covering the hospital's Angel Tree with gold butterflies and white lights. Last night, Hampton joined other families in placing more than 75 heart-shaped glass ornaments engraved with their loved ones' name on the 11-foot tree.
Date published: 11/17/2007
|
 |
|||
|
|||
