This was the day we’d been anticipating and hoping would happen since the heart transplant: meet the family of Vernon’s organ donor and thank them. We had a wonderful afternoon with Tina at Cracker Barrel -where else? It is a family place and seemed appropriate to me. By phone I’d told her what we were wearing and she said she was in white, so it was easy to find each other. We first sat outside in the rocking chairs after greeting Tina with hugs. She’d brought pictures of their wedding so we got to see his parents and siblings also. One picture of Steven was taken shortly before his death and he’s proudly holding a bass he’d caught. She said he loved to fish.
We felt comfortable with her immediately and we all three talked easily. I shed a few tears but not as much as I expected. They lived no more than four miles from us and our paths could have crossed easily without us knowing it. Tina now lives in Cocoa but still works in Orlando.
What caused Steven’s death was a blow to his head by an angry man which caused him to fall and hit his head on the floor. Tina described it as brain death. This happened very early in the morning of Feb. 3, 2006. It was her idea to donate his organs. When she approached his family with the idea, they agreed to it. That evening is when we received the first call saying it was possible that a heart had been found for Vernon and the morning of the 4th when he was taken to surgery.
Besides the pictures, Tina brought with her the letter she received from Trans Life that provided some details regarding the lives that were saved by her decision to donate. In addition to Vernon receiving Steven’s heart, his liver went to a 27 yr old man in FL. One lung went to a 58 yr old man also in FL and the right kidney to at 14 yr old girl in TX. It was a perfect match, which is very rare. The final recipient was a 49 yr old male who suffered from Type 1 diabetes and hypertensive nephrosclerosis. He received the left kidney and pancreas. He now lives free of dialysis and daily insulin injections. So five individuals and their families benefited from the gift of Steven’s organs!
Tina described Steven as a fun-loving man with a big heart full of love. His memorial was Friday afternoon, Feb. 10, and the service was packed. He loved fireworks, as does Vernon, and that evening his family enjoyed some in his memory. It is now two years and two months since his death and the transplant.
Before we parted, Tina rested her head against Vernon’s chest to hear Steven’s heart. That scene is one of the photos below. The bandage on Vernon’s right temple is from some recent surgery. I hope our expressions convey how we were feeling – happy grateful. We plan to keep in touch and meet Steven’s family next. His birthday is April 25 and he would have been 45.
