Traffic victim gave gift of life
Kristina Hernandez, Staff Writer
REDLANDS - Holland Elijah Atkins of San Bernardino was 19 when he died from injuries suffered in a car accident on Dec. 15, 2008.
Two days later, Jeff Perlman was telling his wife, `I'll be back,' as he was being taken into surgery at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles to receive a donated organ, Holland's liver.
The family of the aspiring rapper and actor made the decision to donate his organs after hearing how they could possibly save the lives of those on the state's organ and tissue donor registry.
Their donation did. In fact, Holland's heart, liver and two kidneys helped save four people, including Perlman, of Irvine.
"His liver really saved my life, because I was two weeks away from dying," Perlman, 61, said as he thanked Holland's family Saturday when they met for the first time, at the OneLegacy Center in Redlands.
Perlman and his wife, Leslie Drozd, swapped stories about the process he went through to receive his donated liver after being diagnosed with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in November 2004.
Holland's mother Brenda Atkins-Flectcher, his father Vincent, and stepmother Maria Atkins chatted about the young man's upbringing in the Inland Empire and how, though he was a practical joker, had a good head on his shoulders.
Vincent Atkins remembered how his late son had helped a friend pay rent after his friend's father lost his job, and how the young man especially loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles growing up.
"He loved (them). Every time a new video was released, he'd ask me to watch it with him. And one day I asked him what he wanted to be in life, and he responded, `A pizza man, Dad, so I can meet the Ninja Turtles."'
Both families laughed as they swapped stories and shared photos of Perlman's three grandchildren, Lilly, 6, Isabelle, 2, and Sydney, 3.
The families had been corresponding for months anonymously before deciding to meet.
Each knew only the gender and age of the donor and the recipient, meeting coordinators said.
Their meeting came the day before National Minority Donor Awareness Day, first observed Aug. 1, 1996. The day is intended to inspire organ and tissue donation among minorities.
"Minorities represent over 50 percent of those who are on the waiting list for a life-saving part," said Ralph D. Sutton, African-American community development coordinator for OneLegacy. "Being an African-American family, (the Atkins family) understood that under trying times, the benefit of an organ and tissue donation has a benefit of enabling their loved ones to leave a legacy and enhance the life of someone else."
Before retiring in April 2006, Perlman was an editor for the Los Angeles Times. He had previously worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York City and the Press-Enterprise in Riverside.
Holland's mother, Brenda, is an employee with The Sun newspaper.
"Wow, it is a small world," she said.
For more information on how you or a loved one can become a donor, visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or doneVIDAcalifornia.org.
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