First anniversary of Stouffville man's death
Several years ago, my father, longtime Stouffville resident Malcolm Higgins, first spoke of his desire to become an organ donor.
Sadly, last summer, his wish came true.
He was in a single-vehicle car accident and sustained a critical brain injury. When my family and I learned my father would never awake from his injury, we chose to withdraw life support.
He was six months shy of his 50th birthday and well known in the community for his work with Music Mania, the Whitchurch-Stouffville Minor Hockey Association, Scouts Canada and other organizations.
A paralegal and former Toronto police officer, he was the lead singer for a variety of AC/DC tribute bands.
Thursday — July 14 — marked the one-year anniversary of his passing, a date I was sure would never come.
I remember the day so vividly: the fear, the heartbreak and the devastation were overwhelming. I also remember another feeling: comfort. My father met the criteria for organ donation and donated his lungs, eyes and both kidneys, saving three lives.
According to Trillium Gift of Life Network, the organization responsible for organ and tissue donation in Ontario, the need for organs is great. There are more than 1,500 Ontarians currently on the waiting list for a transplant. Every three days, someone on the wait list dies because the life-saving organ they need is not available.
An online donor registry was launched at BeADonor.ca last month, making it easier than ever to register consent. In less than three minutes, one person has the potential to some day save up to eight lives and enhance 75 more.
I knew donating my father’s organs meant we were honouring his wishes and I knew he would save lives. What I didn’t know was the profound impact his decision would have on my own life.
In November, my three siblings and I were featured in the Toronto Star as part of a series on organ donation. We told my father’s story: how he wanted to become an organ donor, how he carried a blank donor card “just in case” he met someone who wanted to consent on the spot and about the child with leukemia he helped out so many years ago through blood donation.
Five months to the day my father passed away – Dec. 14, 2010 – I received an incredible gift: letters from his double-lung recipient and family members. The pieces spoke of the remarkable impact my father’s donation had on their lives. After receiving the letters, I knew I had to continue sharing his story.
I became a volunteer with Trillium Gift of Life Network in February and had my first speaking engagement on Valentine’s Day.
Since then, I have participated in several events and collaborated with Sunnybrook hospital to produce a video promoting organ and tissue donation. More recently, my father’s story was entered in the Donate Life Hollywood Film Festival in California where it placed second.
Talking about organ and tissue donation is not an easy conversation to have with loved ones, but it’s one I’m so thankful my father had with us. That brief talk inspired me to register my consent and changed my life. Most importantly, it saved three others.
My father always said his four kids would always be able to amount to greater things than he ever could.
I beg to differ.
There is no greater gift you can give someone than life itself and he’s done that three-fold.
The man whose selfless decision saved three lives and gave sight to another; the man whose selfless decision was featured in an international video competition and the man whose selfless decision inspired his four children and countless others was my father and for that, I couldn’t be more proud.
Stouffville native Alyshia Higgins completed her high school and college journalism placements at the York Region Media Group's Stouffville Sun-Tribune
WHAT YOU CAN DO
To register your consent online, visitbeadonor.ca. For more information on organ and tissue donation in Ontario, visitgiftoflife.on.ca.
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