His name is Jim...

...and my Daddy saved his life.

I will never forget the shock of the day we got the call...and how confused we all were. Sadly when I talked to Dr. Glass on the phone he asked me the strangest question..."Would you like to donate your Daddy's organs?". So many emotions flooded my body. I couldn't even speak...he told me I could take some time, but that they needed to know quickly. I felt as if he was almost being rude and crass...the thoughts in my head went from anger to are you sure my Daddy has passed? Did you try everything? Then the thought went right to knowing. Not a day or so before we learned my Daddy had been put on the kidney transplant list. Knowing, that we would have relied on another family's sadness to help us made the answer all so clear. It took some convincing for my mother to be ok with it...but once she did, I told Dr. Glass that we would do it and I answered yes to every donation type possible he was eligble for. It was the hardest thing to do and almost unfair, my Daddy should have been the one on the receiving end. :o(


Jim wrote the sweetest letter to my mother about who he is and what he does for a living and how much our sacrifice has meant to him. He spends his life as a coach and karate instructor and helps children and adults to find hope and light in their lives. Jim wanted us to know that not only did my Daddy's gift of organ donation improve the quality of his life, but of countless others that he comes in contact with each day.

On April 4th I will go to a tree planting ceremony in honor of my Daddy...

My Daddy is alive in someone else and somehow through all this pain, I find peace in knowing that part of him lives on. I can't believe he's been gone for 8 months. I love him so much and miss him more than anything each day...but through his death he has gone on to continue doing the good he's always done. I love you Daddy.