Source: WKYC- NBC
CLEVELAND -- A local family which knows the heartbreak of losing children says they, and the family of a girl killed in the Tuscon shootings, both made the right choice in donating their children's organs.
Laura Ehrbar DePiero, whose teenage daugther Erin and son Andrew were killed in a car crash in April, 2010, says the decision by the parents of Christina Green to donate the little girl's corneas is the most generous thing they could have done.
"Her outcome was not what her parents wanted, but the people's lives that she saved," Laura explained.
Organ donation is the subject of tonight's In Focus.
"And I look at that about Andrew and Erin. Our choice of donating her organs helped somebody else live. And in our case, Andrew's organs saved three people's lives, and I just think that he thinks that's so cool."
Christina, who was 9 years old, was the youngest of the victims of the mass murder in Tuscon, Arizona. Her parents revealed this week that they had donated her corneas for transplant.
"It puts organ and tissue donation in a positive spotlight and to let people know it's a good thing to do it," says Hadie Bartholomew of Lifebanc. "And that somebody's legacy can live on because somebody else wanted somebody else to live."
Lifebanc is the non-profit organization which encourages the gift of organ donation. Last year it says it helped to heal and save more than 25,000 lives.
Laura was faced with the difficult decision when Erin, 16, was killed while pulling her car out of the family's driveway on her way to school. Andrew, 13, died a day later.
"There were good things and difficult things for us," Laura revealed. "The beauty was we got to spend another 24 hours with our son while they fine-tuned him so he would be able to give his organs. And we found that a gift, to be able to be with him 24 more hours. Even though we knew the end was coming, we got to talk with him and be with him."
Erin Ehrbar signed up to be an organ donor when she got her drivers license.
"That was her decision," Laura says. "We talked about it a little before she went in to get her license, but that was her decision. She got to donate her corneas so at least one, maybe two people are out there able to see the world in vibrant colors just like she did."
The family received a letter of thanks from the people whose lives were saved or whose sight was restored because of Erin's and Andrew's organ donations.
"We got two the day before Thanksgiving and we read them at Thanksgiving dinner. The gratitude, and hearing that they're alive and doing things that they were never able to do before, gives us great comfort," Laura tells WKYC.
She credits Lifebanc for being a reassuring and comforting presence during the time the decision was made to donate her children's organs.
"When someone's going through that, it's a tragic experience, but to know what someone's wish is going into it, it kind of helps with that decision making process," Laura recalls.
"I felt for me, as a mother of somebody young -- Andrew was 13, healthy, active -- he has the best organs in my mind in the whole world. And I think it would have been more selfish of us to not donate those organs than to donate them. Because he gave such healthy organs, hopefully they'll be able to live 20, 30 more years in those people."
Bartholomew, of Lifebanc, says tragic incidents like those which struck Laura Ehrbar DePiero in Medina County and the family of Christina Green in Tucson, can help guide others into planning for a lasting gift, should the circumstance ever arise.
"It generates the conversation of what are your last wishes," she told WKYC. "And that way it makes the conversation that much easier when the inevitable does happen."
CLEVELAND -- A local family which knows the heartbreak of losing children says they, and the family of a girl killed in the Tuscon shootings, both made the right choice in donating their children's organs.
Laura Ehrbar DePiero, whose teenage daugther Erin and son Andrew were killed in a car crash in April, 2010, says the decision by the parents of Christina Green to donate the little girl's corneas is the most generous thing they could have done.
"Her outcome was not what her parents wanted, but the people's lives that she saved," Laura explained.
Organ donation is the subject of tonight's In Focus.
"And I look at that about Andrew and Erin. Our choice of donating her organs helped somebody else live. And in our case, Andrew's organs saved three people's lives, and I just think that he thinks that's so cool."
Christina, who was 9 years old, was the youngest of the victims of the mass murder in Tuscon, Arizona. Her parents revealed this week that they had donated her corneas for transplant.
"It puts organ and tissue donation in a positive spotlight and to let people know it's a good thing to do it," says Hadie Bartholomew of Lifebanc. "And that somebody's legacy can live on because somebody else wanted somebody else to live."
Lifebanc is the non-profit organization which encourages the gift of organ donation. Last year it says it helped to heal and save more than 25,000 lives.
Laura was faced with the difficult decision when Erin, 16, was killed while pulling her car out of the family's driveway on her way to school. Andrew, 13, died a day later.
"There were good things and difficult things for us," Laura revealed. "The beauty was we got to spend another 24 hours with our son while they fine-tuned him so he would be able to give his organs. And we found that a gift, to be able to be with him 24 more hours. Even though we knew the end was coming, we got to talk with him and be with him."
Erin Ehrbar signed up to be an organ donor when she got her drivers license.
"That was her decision," Laura says. "We talked about it a little before she went in to get her license, but that was her decision. She got to donate her corneas so at least one, maybe two people are out there able to see the world in vibrant colors just like she did."
The family received a letter of thanks from the people whose lives were saved or whose sight was restored because of Erin's and Andrew's organ donations.
"We got two the day before Thanksgiving and we read them at Thanksgiving dinner. The gratitude, and hearing that they're alive and doing things that they were never able to do before, gives us great comfort," Laura tells WKYC.
She credits Lifebanc for being a reassuring and comforting presence during the time the decision was made to donate her children's organs.
"When someone's going through that, it's a tragic experience, but to know what someone's wish is going into it, it kind of helps with that decision making process," Laura recalls.
"I felt for me, as a mother of somebody young -- Andrew was 13, healthy, active -- he has the best organs in my mind in the whole world. And I think it would have been more selfish of us to not donate those organs than to donate them. Because he gave such healthy organs, hopefully they'll be able to live 20, 30 more years in those people."
Bartholomew, of Lifebanc, says tragic incidents like those which struck Laura Ehrbar DePiero in Medina County and the family of Christina Green in Tucson, can help guide others into planning for a lasting gift, should the circumstance ever arise.
"It generates the conversation of what are your last wishes," she told WKYC. "And that way it makes the conversation that much easier when the inevitable does happen."
No comments:
Post a Comment