Source: Leesburg TodayTLC television special "The Message", will air Friday, April 9, at 10 p.m.
Days after a Purcellville family lost their young daughter in a tragic accident, another, even younger, girl was given a gift that has made all the difference in her quality of life.
Fourteen-year-old Erin Ivey passed away the day after Thanksgiving in 2008. She and her family were spending the holiday at a cabin at Great North Mountain in Winchester. An otherwise fun-filled atmosphere quickly turned south, however, when the tree holding the rope swing Erin and other children were using snapped. The children fell into the pond and the tree fell on top of Erin, instantly causing her to lose consciousness.
Ken Ivey said he heard the loud snap of the tree and the children screaming from the cabin. He rushed to his daughter's aid and felt her heart beating faintly. Ivey began performing rescue breathing for almost an hour until emergency rescue personnel arrived. Erin was flown by helicopter to Inova Fairfax Hospital and resuscitation efforts continued for almost 24 hours. However, Erin eventually died from her injuries.
The Iveys, who have five children, then had a difficult decision to make on one of the most difficult days of their lives: whether to donate Erin's organs, which were all donation-eligible due in part to the immediate medical attention given to Erin by her father.
Ken Ivey admits his initial reaction to organ donation was, "No, you're not going to touch my little girl," but then he said he realized it was a gift Erin would have wanted to give.
He describes his daughter, then a student at Harmony Intermediate School in Purcellville, as a "real giving person" and an animal lover. She was involved with Purcellville Baptist Church, and aspired to be a neo-natal nurse in the military. Erin was in the process of joining the Civil Air Patrol and also had her sights set on volunteering for the rescue squad.
With her caring, giving spirit in mind, Ivey said he and his family quickly changed their minds.
"I believe it was divine intervention that made that happen," Ivey said. "We all unanimously agreed this is what Erin would want.
That's when we decided to OK it."
Several hours south, in Yorktown, Joi Ridgell and her daughter Maggie were enjoying a rare lunch out of the house. Sixteen-month-old Maggie did not get out of the house much, due to a rare disease she'd had since birth, biliary atresia. Those with biliary atresia are born without a bile duct, which blocks bile flow from the liver to the gall bladder. This causes bile to be trapped inside the liver, causing damage and scarring of the liver cells, called cirrhosis, and finally liver failure.
In her first 16 months, Maggie did not have much quality of life. Ridgell said her daughter was very jaundiced, was often in the hospital or on antibiotics and was not able to eat on her own due to the condition, necessitating the insertion of a feeding tube through her nose and into her stomach. She was on more than a dozen medications and constantly itched, causing her major discomfort. Her weak immune system caused her and her parents to stay at home most of the time to ensure less hospital visits.
Despite this, Ridgell said doctors often remarked that Maggie was the happiest baby they'd ever seen, sick or well. Her frail condition put her at the top of a regional liver transplant list upon her first birthday and thoughts were that Maggie might not survive much longer without a transplant.
"No one would ever tell me how long they thought she had if she hadn't gotten the transplant, but the way [doctors] were fighting to get her bumped up on the [transplant] list I suspected she was probably lucky to have four to six more months," Ridgell said.
So, two days removed from Thanksgiving, Maggie and Ridgell were out at one of the few restaurants they could go to when Ridgell's cell phone rang. Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore was calling and they had a liver for Maggie, but the family needed to get there immediately.
Despite being told to keep a bag packed for when the call would come, months had passed since Maggie was placed at the top of the transplant list and Ridgell had started to use some of the clothes that were packed. Thus, when the call came, they weren't ready to pick up and leave. To top it off, Ridgell's husband Bob was at a Virginia Tech football game at the time.
Ridgell remembers having about 10 to 15 minutes to pack and frantically drive the five hours to get to Baltimore for Maggie to have the transplant surgery. Arriving late that Saturday night, Maggie was immediately prepped for surgery and at 4 a.m. Sunday morning Ridgell heard the helicopter land with Maggie's new liver, which had formerly belonged to Erin Ivey. Almost six hours later, Maggie's surgery was complete and doctors were optimistic about her prospects for a healthy life.
"It was very fast, very surreal," Ridgell said of the hours between getting that first phone call and the completion of the surgery. Despite the joy of her daughter finally getting the surgery to save her life, she began to realize that Maggie's transplant was made possible by someone else's passing.
"I thought to myself, 'Somebody lost their kid today' and it really was hard," Ridgell said. "I sat and cried for a long time. I prayed for that family because I couldn't imagine what they were going through. We're celebrating the gift of life, but on the other hand there was someone who just lost somebody."
The two families met for the first time just before the anniversary of Erin's death and the anniversary of Maggie's transplant last November. They were brought together for the filming of a new TLC television special "The Message", which will air Friday, April 9, at 10 p.m.
Ridgell admits that she carried around "a lot of guilt" following Maggie's transplant, knowing that another family's loss had made the surgery possible. However, upon meeting the Iveys in their Purcellville home, "the guilt lifted."
"Even though they were devastated, they're so happy for Maggie. It helps me to allow myself to be happy for Maggie, to let go of the guilt," she said.
Ken Ivey said it was "incredible" to meet Maggie, who, despite some developmental delays due to her frequent hospital stays and recent post-transplant complications, is starting to be more like a typical two-and-a-half year old.
"To see her smile and she just came right to me like she's known me forever...it was just amazing," Ivey said of meeting Maggie.
Ridgell remarked that she enjoyed seeing Maggie take to Ken Ivey, noting that she laid her head on his lap and was instantly comfortable with them. For her family, it was also nice to be able to meet the family and get to know them on an individual basis.
"I was able to let them know that I think of them all the time, and we're always praying for them. Now when I pray at night I can pray for each of their kids and think about them individually," Ridgell said.
Ken Ivey said he plans to stay in touch with Ridgell, in addition to the seven other families who have been recipients of Erin's organs. Ivey has also become active in legislation to create a national system for organ donation and to incorporate children under 16. Working with Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA-10), the legislation would incorporate the same question that appears on driver's license applications, whether one wants to donate their organs, on social security applications.
"Everybody who has a child applies for that card when they're born. The whole premise is if you ask a family when things are good they're going to be more likely to check that box than during the most traumatic experience anybody could face with a child," Ivey said.
Ivey said the misinformation about organ donation needs to be "stamped out" and said he hopes to be involved in anything that can do that, so others, like Maggie, can benefit.
He cites theology, using the example of Jesus Christ giving his life so others may live. "Erin gave her life so others may live as well."
Fourteen-year-old Erin Ivey passed away the day after Thanksgiving in 2008. She and her family were spending the holiday at a cabin at Great North Mountain in Winchester. An otherwise fun-filled atmosphere quickly turned south, however, when the tree holding the rope swing Erin and other children were using snapped. The children fell into the pond and the tree fell on top of Erin, instantly causing her to lose consciousness.
Ken Ivey said he heard the loud snap of the tree and the children screaming from the cabin. He rushed to his daughter's aid and felt her heart beating faintly. Ivey began performing rescue breathing for almost an hour until emergency rescue personnel arrived. Erin was flown by helicopter to Inova Fairfax Hospital and resuscitation efforts continued for almost 24 hours. However, Erin eventually died from her injuries.
The Iveys, who have five children, then had a difficult decision to make on one of the most difficult days of their lives: whether to donate Erin's organs, which were all donation-eligible due in part to the immediate medical attention given to Erin by her father.
Ken Ivey admits his initial reaction to organ donation was, "No, you're not going to touch my little girl," but then he said he realized it was a gift Erin would have wanted to give.
He describes his daughter, then a student at Harmony Intermediate School in Purcellville, as a "real giving person" and an animal lover. She was involved with Purcellville Baptist Church, and aspired to be a neo-natal nurse in the military. Erin was in the process of joining the Civil Air Patrol and also had her sights set on volunteering for the rescue squad.
With her caring, giving spirit in mind, Ivey said he and his family quickly changed their minds.
"I believe it was divine intervention that made that happen," Ivey said. "We all unanimously agreed this is what Erin would want.
That's when we decided to OK it."
Several hours south, in Yorktown, Joi Ridgell and her daughter Maggie were enjoying a rare lunch out of the house. Sixteen-month-old Maggie did not get out of the house much, due to a rare disease she'd had since birth, biliary atresia. Those with biliary atresia are born without a bile duct, which blocks bile flow from the liver to the gall bladder. This causes bile to be trapped inside the liver, causing damage and scarring of the liver cells, called cirrhosis, and finally liver failure.
In her first 16 months, Maggie did not have much quality of life. Ridgell said her daughter was very jaundiced, was often in the hospital or on antibiotics and was not able to eat on her own due to the condition, necessitating the insertion of a feeding tube through her nose and into her stomach. She was on more than a dozen medications and constantly itched, causing her major discomfort. Her weak immune system caused her and her parents to stay at home most of the time to ensure less hospital visits.
Despite this, Ridgell said doctors often remarked that Maggie was the happiest baby they'd ever seen, sick or well. Her frail condition put her at the top of a regional liver transplant list upon her first birthday and thoughts were that Maggie might not survive much longer without a transplant.
"No one would ever tell me how long they thought she had if she hadn't gotten the transplant, but the way [doctors] were fighting to get her bumped up on the [transplant] list I suspected she was probably lucky to have four to six more months," Ridgell said.
So, two days removed from Thanksgiving, Maggie and Ridgell were out at one of the few restaurants they could go to when Ridgell's cell phone rang. Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore was calling and they had a liver for Maggie, but the family needed to get there immediately.
Despite being told to keep a bag packed for when the call would come, months had passed since Maggie was placed at the top of the transplant list and Ridgell had started to use some of the clothes that were packed. Thus, when the call came, they weren't ready to pick up and leave. To top it off, Ridgell's husband Bob was at a Virginia Tech football game at the time.
Ridgell remembers having about 10 to 15 minutes to pack and frantically drive the five hours to get to Baltimore for Maggie to have the transplant surgery. Arriving late that Saturday night, Maggie was immediately prepped for surgery and at 4 a.m. Sunday morning Ridgell heard the helicopter land with Maggie's new liver, which had formerly belonged to Erin Ivey. Almost six hours later, Maggie's surgery was complete and doctors were optimistic about her prospects for a healthy life.
"It was very fast, very surreal," Ridgell said of the hours between getting that first phone call and the completion of the surgery. Despite the joy of her daughter finally getting the surgery to save her life, she began to realize that Maggie's transplant was made possible by someone else's passing.
"I thought to myself, 'Somebody lost their kid today' and it really was hard," Ridgell said. "I sat and cried for a long time. I prayed for that family because I couldn't imagine what they were going through. We're celebrating the gift of life, but on the other hand there was someone who just lost somebody."
The two families met for the first time just before the anniversary of Erin's death and the anniversary of Maggie's transplant last November. They were brought together for the filming of a new TLC television special "The Message", which will air Friday, April 9, at 10 p.m.
Ridgell admits that she carried around "a lot of guilt" following Maggie's transplant, knowing that another family's loss had made the surgery possible. However, upon meeting the Iveys in their Purcellville home, "the guilt lifted."
"Even though they were devastated, they're so happy for Maggie. It helps me to allow myself to be happy for Maggie, to let go of the guilt," she said.
Ken Ivey said it was "incredible" to meet Maggie, who, despite some developmental delays due to her frequent hospital stays and recent post-transplant complications, is starting to be more like a typical two-and-a-half year old.
"To see her smile and she just came right to me like she's known me forever...it was just amazing," Ivey said of meeting Maggie.
Ridgell remarked that she enjoyed seeing Maggie take to Ken Ivey, noting that she laid her head on his lap and was instantly comfortable with them. For her family, it was also nice to be able to meet the family and get to know them on an individual basis.
"I was able to let them know that I think of them all the time, and we're always praying for them. Now when I pray at night I can pray for each of their kids and think about them individually," Ridgell said.
Ken Ivey said he plans to stay in touch with Ridgell, in addition to the seven other families who have been recipients of Erin's organs. Ivey has also become active in legislation to create a national system for organ donation and to incorporate children under 16. Working with Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA-10), the legislation would incorporate the same question that appears on driver's license applications, whether one wants to donate their organs, on social security applications.
"Everybody who has a child applies for that card when they're born. The whole premise is if you ask a family when things are good they're going to be more likely to check that box than during the most traumatic experience anybody could face with a child," Ivey said.
Ivey said the misinformation about organ donation needs to be "stamped out" and said he hopes to be involved in anything that can do that, so others, like Maggie, can benefit.
He cites theology, using the example of Jesus Christ giving his life so others may live. "Erin gave her life so others may live as well."
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