Event to raise awareness about organ donation
By Brandi Cummings| WIS News 10, Columbia, SC

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A special event planned this weekend will bring awareness about the need for more organ donors.

One Midlands family knows a lot about transplants. Reagan Potter had two open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before her first birthday. She looks like an ordinary 6-year-old, but her story is beyond her years.

Reagan's heart is stronger now, but it was a long road here. Reagan's mom Kelly recalls the moment she got the news. It was two days after Reagan's birth, and her family was just two hours from leaving the hospital with a new baby.

"They told us that we had a child with a severe heart defect," said Kelly. "The left ventricle had not even formed, so basically a half of heart was there."

Doctors told Potter Reagan needed three surgeries or an immediate heart transplant to survive, and the Potters chose surgery. Two of them were successful, but then Reagan got sicker.

"When she was eight months old at Christmas time, her heart weakened so much that she had to go on a heart-lung bypass," said Kelly.

With the clock ticking, doctors said a heart transplant was the only option. The Potters were lucky, because Reagan was on the transplant list only 14 days. "It was very scary," said Kelly.

With a new heart and a playful spirit, this kindergartner continues to grow. "I never thought this day would come, just to be a kid," said Kelly.

The Potters' story is like many others. Every 11 minutes, another person is added to the national transplant waiting list. Without donors, lives like Reagan's would be cut short. "It's life-saving, and you could make that one decision so easily," said Kelly.

It's a decision one mom hopes you make for other children like hers.

Reagan turns six on Saturday, the same day of the first-ever Midlands Linking Hands for Life event at Riverfront Park in Columbia. The event starts at 4:00pm.

Organizers say those who attend will link hands symbolic of a chain to represent the cycle of life. There will also be live music and fun for the whole family.