LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
“Organ, eye and tissue donation is an act of profound compassion. It brings healing to those in need, and provides families of donors with something deeply meaningful in the midst of grief, the knowledge that their loved ones gave others the chance to live,” Horizon Health CEO Jay Carmichael said, addressing an emotional crowd gathered around the flagpole at the hospital’s main campus on April 30.
“As we stand together today, may we be inspired by the lives saved, the healing offered and the hope still needed,” he said.
Those around Carmichael were gathered in recognition of the close of National Donate Life Month for a moving tribute honoring the lives of those who have donated and/or received organs, tissue or blood.
In partnership with nationally recognized non-profit organization Gift of Hope, the event began at 10 a.m., despite rain showers, to showcase the stories of local residents impacted by organ donation and raise a new flag in their honor.
The event also asked its audience the all-important question, “Have you registered to be a donor yet?”
“Today, we acknowledge the multitude of medical professionals among us who work each day to care for our family and friends, and neighbors. (They) play an essential role in honoring the decisions of our donors and their families,” Carmichael said.
The CEO introduced two hospital employees whose lives have been “Profoundly impacted by the Gift of Hope.” He asked them to share pieces of their stories with the audience.
On April 24, 2018, Karlee McCollum and her family found “the true meaning of hope.”
“My stepmom was found in cardiac arrest and had been down for an unknown amount of time. After three long days of testing, waiting, grief, anxiety and anger, a tough decision had to be made,” McCollum told the crowd. “The only thing that helped us through our difficult decision was the Gift of Hope.”
“From the moment we made the decision to say our goodbyes, we were shown how important her gift to others was. We were showered with telemetry strips from her last heartbeats, which now, all of us kids have forever on our bodies,” she said.
McCollum and her family were also given hand-prints on card stock to give to their children, books to read, pins showing her donation, a plaque to go on her headstone and a flag to raise in honor of her gift.
“It wasn’t just the gifts that were given to us that made the difference, but the support and, most importantly, the explanation of how many lives her loss was going to positively impact,” McCollum said. “We were informed that she would impact the lives of up to 27 others.”
The life-giving donations provided by McCollum’s stepmother extended across the country. Her lungs gave life to patients in Chicago and Michigan. A liver went to Minnesota, and her kidney and pancreas went to a patient in Wisconsin.
“Today, my children, who were unborn at the time of our loss, have now had the opportunity to meet two people that their grandma saved,” McCollum said. “Her story is a reminder that even in our deepest sorrow, hope can bloom. Through her incredible gift, she continues to live on in the lives she saved and the hearts she touched.”
Forever grateful for the Gift of Hope, McCollum encouraged and thanked every individual who has made the “decision to turn loss into life.”
Carmichael also introduced Frankie Rubin, a hospital employee whose brother was given a new shot at life because of a stranger’s generous gift.
According to Rubin, her brother is a person who walks into his room, and “we notice him immediately.”
“He was always described as happy, funny, strong, dependable, a father, a husband, a son … the one with the biggest heart, literally, as we found out. At the age of 38, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy; his heart, we found out, was three times the normal size,” Rubin said.
While her brother trekked on with his life, eventually the need for a new heart became evident.
“In 2020, he decided it might be time to do testing to go on the transplant list. That fall, he started to have some health issues and the need for a transplant became real,” Rubin said. “The day before Thanksgiving, he was put into a hospital and told that he would not leave without a heart.”
“We will never forget that on the night of December 9, the doctor called with a match. Lots of tears were shed, and we were grateful that our prayers were answered, but we also knew it meant that someone else’s prayers were not answered,” she said.
The transplant surgery for Rubin’s brother went well, and the donor was labeled as a perfect match. Nine days later, Gary went home to his family. He has never had a rejection issue and has a string of perfect follow-up appointments over the past four and a half years.
Today, Rubin’s brother is an advocate for organ donation and has started an organ donor Jeep Ride in Terre Haute. In three short years, he has assisted with raising more than $40,000 for the Indiana donor network.
“To the families of the donors here today, thank you. Without you and your loved ones making the decision, my brother would not be here,” Rubin said. “Without the organ donors, there is no story, no hope, no transplant. When there is an organ donor, life springs from death, sorrow springs from hope and terrible loss becomes a gift.”
The final local speaker for the event was Rachel Kelley, Horizon Health’s VP of nursing and CNO, she also has personal experience with organ donation. Her father is currently on a list, waiting for his perfect match. Kelley shared a heartfelt poem with the group.
“Today, we recognize those who have given selflessly to save and heal others,” she said. “And, we recognize those still waiting for a second chance at life.”
“At a certain moment, a doctor will determine that my brain no longer functions and, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.
When that happens, I will not call this my deathbed. It is considered my bed of life.
Let my body be taken from it to help others live fuller lives.
Give my sight to a man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby’s face, or the love in the eyes of his grandkids.
Give my blood to the teenager who has been pulled from the wreckage of his car so that he may live to see his grandchildren grow up.
Give my kidney to the one who depends on a machine to exist day after day.
Give my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body, and find a way to help someone climb a mountain or dance at a wedding.
Explore every corner of my body, take my tissue and skin cells so that someone badly burned and injured will heal faster.
I leave these things so that someone can benefit from me, my body.
My legacy will live on and another human who needs me now more than ever.
I am released of my human body and human duties with the raising of the flag, honoring my gift of life and continued existence.”
Following a moment of silence and before the raising of a flag, the group was greeted by a representative of Gift of Hope. Alexis Plumb, the representative, said the procurement organization coordinates organ and tissue donation and services to families of donors in the northern three-quarters of Illinois and northwest Indiana. The organization works with more than 180 hospitals, the eye banks serving our regions, transplant centers and with thousands of forensic and professional partners.
“Today, we want to say thank you to everyone who has said yes and registered as an organ, tissue and eye donor. We ask you to help us to continue to educate our fellow neighbors about the need for more registered organ tissue and eye donors,” Plumb said. “We are honoring all the donors, the importance of giving, recognizing all the recipients and providing hope to all those who are still waiting for their gift by raising the flag.”
Since its inception in 1986, Gift of Hope has helped save more than 29,000 lives through organ donation and has helped hundreds of thousands of patients receive the donated tissue they need to see, walk, heal and live a pain-free life or life of mobility again.
Yet, the need for organ donors is critical, according to Plumb and Carmichael. More than 5,000 adults and children across Illinois and Indiana are waiting for a life-saving transplant.
To close out the ceremony, McCollum and Rubin joined forces with a handful of others to help raise the new flag on the hospital’s main campus. The flags remained at half-mast the rest of the day, and Carmichael repeated one final question to the somber audience, “Have you registered to be a donor yet?”
More information on registering to donate can be found online at www.giftofhope.org or by contacting Horizon Health at 217-465-4141.