if you read my blog shortly after liz died (or parts of my book), you may remember that i had a love/hate relationship with the organ donation process. in principle, it’s something that i absolutely agree with (and so did liz), and when confronted with the idea of donating liz’s organs, tissue and eyes, well, i knew it was the right thing to do.
and in spite of the difficulty i’ve had personally with certain parts of the process, a few years back i had a very visceral and cerebral experience that confirmed that i would forever be an advocate of organ donation (albeit it a mostly silent one up until now).
i heard from one of the families that benefited from liz’s donation…
up until that moment, i had no idea what happened after the phone call i’d had with the organ donation organization the day after liz died. quite honestly, i didn’t think i would ever want to know what happened, but when the representative from the organ donation group read me the letter from the family, i felt an amazing sense of relief, as if none of this was in vain.
fast forward a few years…
i recently got an email asking if i would be willing to share our family’s experience, in part to honor liz, and also to increase advocacy for organ donation. one of the big ways we would do this is to share our story, and also take part in decorating a floragraph with an image of liz that will be featured on the donate life float during the 2013 rose parade. i was more than honored to do so, and i know that liz would agree with the decision.
so if you’re interested in learning more about the donate life float, you can read the press release here.
you can see the entire list of floragraph honorees here.
and finally, you can read liz’s story here.
i’l be sharing more about this soon…
Beautiful photo of Liz and the story on their page
Hello Matt. Thank you so much for making the decison that you did! I can’t wait to read more about this. My son, Owen, was born just before Maddie and I have followed your blog since. He was born with only half his heart and after three open heart surgeries.. he is currently waiting for a new heart! We are on the other end of donation and I can’t say thank you enough for promoting organ donation awareness.
Wow….this just blows me away. There definitely are a lot of young honorees. This will be so VERY awesome for Madeline.
How’s the Lifetime movies coming along??
We are on the other end of this – my family member received a heart from a young man who died in a car accident, at the age of 19, on Christmas day. It is, by far, the most beautiful gift we have ever received. Words just can not express. We would remember, and honor the donor every Christmas. I would think about his parents and wish them peace. It’s a strange struggle – what we celebrated, they mourned and we hoped for peace for them every passing year. We recently lost this family member but we are FOREVER grateful for the 10 extra years we were able to have with him. I think of all the things that have happened in the last 10 years and can not imagine him not being here for it. It’s always a beautiful thing when something good can come of a tragic loss and I am happy that part of Liz lives on. I have been a long time reader and I remember how the donation process would frustrate you at times, it’s so comforting to see you more at peace with it.
Very touching! I’m glad you made the decision to give someone else the gift of life!! So selfless!
I cannot imagine the gut-wrenching decisions you had to make following Liz’s death. So glad you made this one. I will always have donor checked on my drivers license. My brother and SIL made this same decision after the accidental death of their son. It was hard for them. Awesome honor for Liz and the others.
Wow! very touchng post and what an awesome honor to Liz and the others. I too am a organ donor.
Thank you for sharing with all of us.
That is an amazing thing to do. What a wonderful way to honor Liz and all the other honorees.
Asalamu Alaykom,
I don’t think that organ and tissue donation is something that will be possible for me in Egypt. I might have to ask around. Usually, the deceased is buried before the day is done.
If someone could re-use my organs and then recycle them into a flower float at the Rosebowl, I would sign up for sure. I hope you can post a video of the float going down Pasadena. I won’t be able to watch it otherwise.
Your journey never ceases to amaze me!
Addendum: I meant recycle the life energy of the organs…not the actual parts of me. Not sure if that makes any more sense. Time for bed!
I’ve read your blog for years but never commented until today. My mom is a heart donor recipient. We have met her donor’s mother. David was 26 when he died and left behind 5 children. Meeting his mom helped my mom to get over the guilt she felt that someone died and she lived, but also helped David’s mom and family heal as well. My mom and David’s mom have become friends (we are in Iowa, she is in South Dakota). Mom even participates in the Transplant Games and David’s mom comes to cheer her on. Several years ago they even walked in the 5K walk to honor those who donated and those who are living with implanted organs. It was very moving. So, to make this long response short…..thank you for the gift of life that you gave and thank you for helping to increase advocacy for organ donation. There really is no other gift as big or as generous as donating life.
I am the recipient of someone having made this courageous decision. Thank you for doing it Matt. I can only imagine the millions of other things going on in a family’s life in a moment of tragedy but it is forever life changing. xoxo
This is actually an entire bookclub from Des Moines, IA. We just read your book for our last book assignment and truly loved it. We got on your blog impromptu. Our book club has read The Wishing Tree and wondered if that book inspired your story.
Thank you, Matt, for consenting to the donation of Liz’s organs/tissues. A good handful of my friends have received heart and sometimes heart/liver transplants through the kindness of people like you and Liz. I can’t wait to see Liz honored in this float.
This is so beautiful, Matt. I’ve been following your blog since 2008 and never post, but felt the need to now. Maybe it’s because of our shared name (I’m Elizabeth Ann, too) or the fact that we’re both from the Midwest (Wisconsin here) and came to LA in our 20s, but your Liz is on my mind a lot. When I read her Rose Parade story my heart just sunk because I had my baby girl via c-section in July 2011 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, too. Her story was just etched even deeper into my heart.
I hope that my husband and I can do as great a job at raising our daughter as you have with Maddie. You’re a true inspiration.
Liz
My dad passed away almost 10 months ago while he waited for a liver transplant. He was only 56 years old which was far too early in my opinion. What Liz had decided to do, is what I wish so many more people would do. My family and I are sponsoring a rose on that same float in honor of my dad this year. Thank you so much for creating social awareness for this amazing gift people can give to each other. Keep up the great work.
Simply wonderful. What a legacy Liz continues to leave in this world.
She LIVES!
thank you, matt, for opening up about this. i am a living organ donor. i donated my kidney as part of an 8 person chain donation (4 kidneys were donated, 4 donors, 4 recipients, 4 different states). there is no way to describe the feeling, the joy, of watching someone who was sick thrive and live the life they wanted, all because of someone else’s good deed.
I remember reading about the transplant phone call in your book. It’s hard to imagine how heartbreaking it was to have to face the reality of Liz being gone and her body being donated to others. I am so glad you made the decision you did, and that you have come to peace with it more and it has actually helped you. Thank you for donating life and for sharing your/Liz’s story of donation. The float sounds beautiful.
Besides raising a beautiful and thoughtful daughter on your own, I think Liz would be most proud of you for taking part in this. I can feel her spirit as I read her bio on the donate life page.
Just as you honor Liz and her recipients with this, now you have honored all the people that we have not known about. Thank you for making me aware of these unsung heroes.
A wonderful decision was made by you.
It made me sad to see so many young faces on the page of honorees.
my parents found out a week before my sister was born that she would not live past her first day. in the early 70s, donating organs wasn’t done just everywhere and they flew from southern Illinois to Denver to donate her organs after a joyless birth. I often wonder who out there is living b/c my parents had the bravery to think about life in the midst of her inevitable death. I think this is all so beautiful, matt.
This is amazing. I’m an organ donor, and I think it’s such a wonderful thing to do for other families.
Another awesome piece of Liz’s story…
I actually teared up when I read Liz’s story, the dates, and saw her little picture in the corner. All I could think is how this was absolutely not supposed to be her story, those dates were only supposed to represent something so very different, and what a truly gorgeous young woman Liz was. She had the most beautiful eyes and smile. This is so beautiful, but also so hard to think about when looking at that photo. I’m never really going to understand how you’ve done all you’ve done, considering how much pain I feel as a stranger simply reading about it. I imagine your wife would be incredibly touched by your continual love for her and how that love has helped others.
You have done more than honor Liz. You have also reaffirmed my belief that even after passing we can still do something positive of saving a life. My mother and father from the time I was a child in the 70′s and 80′s told me, “What are you going to do with them when you die anyway?” Help someone by becoming a donor. It wasn’t till recently that I made it clear that my organs were to be donated. I am glad to make the choice.
I had no idea that Liz was an organ donor-what an amazing gift you, Maddie and her gave so many others. I’m an organ transplant coordinator-I’ve worked on both sides of transplant. For years my job was approaching families just like you, asking for consent for donation and running the case-placing the organs with potential recipients all while caring for the donor and family. It was the most amazing job I ever had. For the past 6 years, I’ve worked on the other side as a kidney and pancreas transplant coordinator and I just absolutely love seeing how my patients lives change by the gift families like you give. Thank you. I’ve also had the honor of helping decorate the Rose Parade float. So amazing. I just saw the unveiling of the 2013 float at a donation conference yesterday. Can’t wait to see Liz’s beautiful face on there.
Thanks for sharing, I believe in organ donation, my mom has had three transplants and I know it’s because of people like you that make that tough decision that she is here with us. Thanks again for sharing your story.
Matt-
This is WONDERFUL. My husband who’s 28 is currently waiting for a kidney transplant and is on dialysis. It’ll be his second one, his first failed when he was 21 after 3 years. I’m a HUGE supporter and advocate for organ donation. I always wondered if you decided to donate Liz’s organs, but never wanted to ask because it’s a sensitive topic. Thank you (and Liz!) for donating and giving people the gift of life from such a devastating situation.
Thank you for honoring Liz and for giving someone else a chance at life. My dad is a heart transplant recipient and I am so thankful that someone gave such a huge gift so that we could haev him with us longer. I know my 3 boys are blessed to have their grandfather in their lives and it’s the biggest gift someone can give. I’m so glad you were able to hear more about how her gift was used. It makes a world of difference.
I was just reading the press release on the parade site and came across your book, blog and everything else and just wanted to share with you that my husband was chosen as a florograph honoree and we will be flying out to California for the parade…he passed away march 31st of 2011…we had a 15 month old son and I was pregnant at the time of his death..only about 5 weeks and I never had the chance to tell him. I chose to donate his organs, it wasnt anything that we had talked about but I knew it is what he would want to do. I was just as shocked to get a call from the new england organ bank that we were chosen for the parade..its a great honor and I am so happy to keep Nick’s memory alive for our children. I would love to learn more about your experience and hope you cope with day to day life..
As the wife of a man who received a liver transplant, I want to thank you for the gift of life. I know those words are simple and can be somewhat meaningless, but until you have walked down either path, I don’t think one can really know the impact it can have on a person, or family’s life. My husband became sick with an immuno-suppressant liver disease at the age of 13. By the age of 31, he needed a transplant in order to live. On Fathers Day in 2009, he received a new lease on life. At the age of 33, we were called in for a possible transplant, which took place that night. We are forever grateful to the family of the donor that saved my husband, a father of three. Through their loss, they were able to save someone else, several others I am sure. So, from me to you, thank you for your selflessness in such a time that a person has a right to be selfish.
Anita too was an organ donor. Sadly in her case nothing got to go anywhere because of the sort of mischief hospitals do behind the scene.
You see she was in hospital A when she suffered a “cardiac arrest”, she was resuscitated and transferred to hospital B in “good faith” as having a serious brain tumor.
Hospital B immediately does some tests including blood tests (for as a neurological hospital it is their responsibility to determine brain death and to not harvest any organs before death is clear).
Sadly while they were doing a crainotomy on her to relieve the swelling on her brain, it became clear that she had been in “cardiac arrest” so long at hospital A that her major organs were no longer useful.
In this manner hospital A managed to remove one more mortality from their books, and side step their inadequate monitoring.
So I really have no idea exactly when my love died or even how.
All I do know for certain is how it felt lifting her body from the autopsy tray into her coffin with my father-in-law. Seeing the wounds on her body and all of the cannula etc remainining in her body. The hospital staff refused to assist saying it wasn’t their business.
I work for Methodist University OR (memphis) on their Transplant Team, its completely amazing….organ donation is incredibly important
I turned on the parade just in time to see the float…amazing… I used to work with a man whos daughter Taylor Storch was honored with Liz on the float. He started a non profit Taylor’s Gift to raise awareness on organ donation after Taylor passed away. He and his wife have met several of the people who recieved Taylor’s organs. It was moving watching the process thru your instagrams. thank you for sharing all the wonderful photos.