Posted on June 3, 2011 by admin | Donate Life Vermont
Below is an excerpt from a newsletter by Chris Klug, a national advocate for donation. Chris is a professional snowboarder and bronze medal Olympic winner, who participated in the Olympics soon after his liver transplant. He established the foundation “Donor Dudes” to help raise awareness.
Recognizing Awesome Organ Donor Ambassadors!
Time for Donor Dudes Shout Outs! There are so many people out there sharing their donor or transplant experience, fundraising to support life-saving donation, and promoting our Donor Dudes program! Share your stories with us and we will pass them along to our supporters. This particular story not only speaks to the world of organ & tissue donation but provided the Chris Klug Foundation (CKF) with a powerful experience we will cherish forever.
On April 11 CKF executive director received a text message from Chris Klug (who was at the hospital with his wife in labor) asking her to call a woman name Sue Peters immediately; Sue was in search of Donor Dudes materials on a strict time crunch. Without hesitation Sue was contacted. She shared with us that her 18 year old son, Dylan Peters, an aspiring young man and a very talented snowboarder, had recently died in a car accident. Sue also shared that she had visited our Donor Dudes booth and had the pleasure of meeting Chris at the 2010 United States Snowboard Association Nationals (where Dylan was the National Champion in the Jr. Men’s Slopestyle Division). Sue said “Chris’s story is so inspiring and all the educational materials at the booth really drove home the message for me. When we knew Dylan wouldn’t survive his accident, there was never any question in our minds after all I had learned about Chris and Donor Dudes.” She asked if it was possible to overnight our donor awareness materials so they could be displayed at Dylan’s celebration of life. In the midst of this tragedy, the Peters family took time to help others and make sure everyone there for Dylan (over 800 people) knew that he donated 5 organs, saved 4 lives and will enhance many more through tissue donation.
A month after Dylan’s passing, Sue shared that because of Dylan’s story numerous people have told her that their minds have been changed about organ donation and they have since registered. Countless numbers of kids throughout the Peters’ Northern Vermont/New Hampshire communities had the donor discussion with their parents. In addition, several of Dylan’s coaches indicated they would sign up, or proudly showed the heart already on their licenses.
“People keep asking how we were able to make this life saving gift on Dylan’s behalf at such a time of crisis for our family. I can’t emphasize enough that it really was all due to Chris’ outreach efforts. We lost a dear friend of Dylan’s, another rider, Sam Cohn, four years ago and he was a donor, but the message really sunk in when we saw the Donor Dudes booth at the ’10 USASA Nationals and had the opportunity to meet Chris.”
On behalf of the Chris Klug Foundation, our sincere thoughts go out to the Peters family. Thank you for following through with Dylan’s decision to be an organ & tissue donor. Not only that, but for taking another step in educating your friends and family about the cause. We also wish the four individuals who received a second chance at life a speedy recovery and a healthy life ahead! Thank you to Sue Peters for allowing us to share this story with all of you. And thank you, Dylan for being a hero. If you’re interested in checking out a short clip of Dylan’s snowboarding steeze, the Peters family would like to share it with you! Dylan Peter’s Art of Snowboarding Fund
On April 11 CKF executive director received a text message from Chris Klug (who was at the hospital with his wife in labor) asking her to call a woman name Sue Peters immediately; Sue was in search of Donor Dudes materials on a strict time crunch. Without hesitation Sue was contacted. She shared with us that her 18 year old son, Dylan Peters, an aspiring young man and a very talented snowboarder, had recently died in a car accident. Sue also shared that she had visited our Donor Dudes booth and had the pleasure of meeting Chris at the 2010 United States Snowboard Association Nationals (where Dylan was the National Champion in the Jr. Men’s Slopestyle Division). Sue said “Chris’s story is so inspiring and all the educational materials at the booth really drove home the message for me. When we knew Dylan wouldn’t survive his accident, there was never any question in our minds after all I had learned about Chris and Donor Dudes.” She asked if it was possible to overnight our donor awareness materials so they could be displayed at Dylan’s celebration of life. In the midst of this tragedy, the Peters family took time to help others and make sure everyone there for Dylan (over 800 people) knew that he donated 5 organs, saved 4 lives and will enhance many more through tissue donation.
A month after Dylan’s passing, Sue shared that because of Dylan’s story numerous people have told her that their minds have been changed about organ donation and they have since registered. Countless numbers of kids throughout the Peters’ Northern Vermont/New Hampshire communities had the donor discussion with their parents. In addition, several of Dylan’s coaches indicated they would sign up, or proudly showed the heart already on their licenses.
“People keep asking how we were able to make this life saving gift on Dylan’s behalf at such a time of crisis for our family. I can’t emphasize enough that it really was all due to Chris’ outreach efforts. We lost a dear friend of Dylan’s, another rider, Sam Cohn, four years ago and he was a donor, but the message really sunk in when we saw the Donor Dudes booth at the ’10 USASA Nationals and had the opportunity to meet Chris.”
On behalf of the Chris Klug Foundation, our sincere thoughts go out to the Peters family. Thank you for following through with Dylan’s decision to be an organ & tissue donor. Not only that, but for taking another step in educating your friends and family about the cause. We also wish the four individuals who received a second chance at life a speedy recovery and a healthy life ahead! Thank you to Sue Peters for allowing us to share this story with all of you. And thank you, Dylan for being a hero. If you’re interested in checking out a short clip of Dylan’s snowboarding steeze, the Peters family would like to share it with you! Dylan Peter’s Art of Snowboarding Fund
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