Red rose expresses thanks for liver donation

The Orange County Register | Courtney Perkes

For Stephanie McMackin, who will ride on the Donate Life float in the Rose Parade, one red rose among 30,589 flowers will carry special meaning.

McMackin of Fullerton dedicated that bloom in tribute to the dead teenage girl whose liver saved McMackin's life 21 years ago.

She wrote a message attached to the stem that reads, "In honor of my donor family. I can never thank you enough for your gift."

McMackin, 62, a human resources consultant, developed congenital liver disease in 1970, not long after marrying her high school sweetheart, Joe.

She suffered from severe jaundice, oozing sores and pancreatitis. Because transplants were still experimental, she survived with external tubes in her abdomen that had to be irrigated every day.

By 1990, McMackin was so ill that she was added to the transplant waiting list. In May, days before Mother's Day, she received the call to go to UCLA for surgery.

Read more: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mcmackin-333524-liver-day.html