FROM KPSP LOCAL 2 NEWS.
Mike Adams, who grew up in Palm Springs suffered from cystic fibrosis since he was a child. "I probably spent half my life in hospitals," said Adams, who now lives in Rancho Cucamonga. At age 36, he was told he needed a lung transplant. Two and a half years later, he got the call that saved him, just in time.
"I was actually dying," Adams told KPSP Local 2. "..just had the last rites said over me by my pastor who married me and my wife, and they didn't expect me to leave the hospital." But after receiving new lungs, he began his new life. "I feel great!" Adams stays incredibly active, which includes whitewater rafting and scuba diving; he even won a gold medal for men's tennis in the Transplant Games.
Adams says he counts his two heroes as wife, and his donor, a 15-year-old boy, gunned down by gangmembers in front of a church. "I'm thankful everyday for every breath I take," Adams said.
The United Network of Organ Sharing says there are around 103,000 people still waiting for life-saving transplants nationwide. That includes 20,000 in California. It's estimated 18 people die everday waiting for an organ, in the United States.
Chris and Brandy Lott of San Jacinto say they take pride in knowing their mother who died this past March is still helping others. "She gave her heart, lungs and liver. She saved three lives," said Brandy Lott.
The Lotts were among ten families of donors who died at Palm Springs' Desert Regional Medical Center honored Thursday, during a special ceremony at the Hanson House.
OneLegacy, which works with the majority of hospitals in Southern California to facilitate donations, presented each family with a certificate and a rose, which families will dedicate then give to put on the DonateLife Rose Parade Float in January.
Chris and Brandy, who are donors themselves, say it was an easy decision. "There's a list out there, and it's long," said Brandy. Mike Adams, grateful everyday, to be off the list, said this December will mark seven years since his life-changing transplant. "It's the most precious gift anyone can give, before they leave. It saves lives."
"I was actually dying," Adams told KPSP Local 2. "..just had the last rites said over me by my pastor who married me and my wife, and they didn't expect me to leave the hospital." But after receiving new lungs, he began his new life. "I feel great!" Adams stays incredibly active, which includes whitewater rafting and scuba diving; he even won a gold medal for men's tennis in the Transplant Games.
Adams says he counts his two heroes as wife, and his donor, a 15-year-old boy, gunned down by gangmembers in front of a church. "I'm thankful everyday for every breath I take," Adams said.
The United Network of Organ Sharing says there are around 103,000 people still waiting for life-saving transplants nationwide. That includes 20,000 in California. It's estimated 18 people die everday waiting for an organ, in the United States.
Chris and Brandy Lott of San Jacinto say they take pride in knowing their mother who died this past March is still helping others. "She gave her heart, lungs and liver. She saved three lives," said Brandy Lott.
The Lotts were among ten families of donors who died at Palm Springs' Desert Regional Medical Center honored Thursday, during a special ceremony at the Hanson House.
OneLegacy, which works with the majority of hospitals in Southern California to facilitate donations, presented each family with a certificate and a rose, which families will dedicate then give to put on the DonateLife Rose Parade Float in January.
Chris and Brandy, who are donors themselves, say it was an easy decision. "There's a list out there, and it's long," said Brandy. Mike Adams, grateful everyday, to be off the list, said this December will mark seven years since his life-changing transplant. "It's the most precious gift anyone can give, before they leave. It saves lives."
To learn more about becoming a donor in California please visit Donate Life California.
To become a donor in your state please click HERE
To learn more about OneLegacy, please visit their web-site by clicking HERE
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