The two weeks of anniversary dates are over. I am too tired and drained to reflect on what they meant to me. They were even more brutal than I expected. I will talk about it when I regain a little energy. I want today to be about Hayley’s gifts. Her organ donations. She ended up able to donate four major organs. In addition she will save or improve the lives of countless others with her tissue donations. We are so thankful that we have made a connection with three of her recipients. Her heart and both kidneys have made us a part of their beautiful lives. With his permission I wanted to share with you the letter we received from Chris aka “left kidney”. All we knew at first was that one kidney went to a man in his thirties and the other to a woman in her thirties. I have not told Chris this story but the way I remembered which one got the left or the right was that women are always right! I am sure Wendy will appreciate that.
With his permission I wanted to share his beautiful letter that he sent to us. This is the power of organ donation…
Crying
This makes me happy…and sad. I have thought of you numerous times over the past few days.
Such a beautiful legacy Hayley leaves behind. She was a gift that was able to keep on giving thanks to your incredible strength and determination. Love you guys.
That is simply beautiful. That through Hayley’s gift not only was this man saved, but the life of every patient he works with is touched and improved by your daughter. Her life still ripples out and makes the lives of others better. I can only imagine the pain of these last two weeks. The bitter raw pain and emotion with no where to go. I pray for peace for you in time.
Tears…beautiful tears. When it comes to organ donation, I always think of Hayley. What a touching letter to receive and know the gift of life she gave.
So beautiful, they gifts Hayley gave, in so many ways. Much love and hugs to you, Dawn and Scott. I can’t imgine how difficult these past few days have been and I hope I never know, and I’m so sorry YOU have to know.
Dawn,
My 3 year old daughter LOVES rocks. Anytime we go anywhere we always manage to come home with no fewer than 5 hideous, dirt covered rocks. Last week, we were on a hike and she found a rock that had a heart painted on it. She immediately started calling it her ‘treasure’ rock. With the new paint a rock and hide it trend, I know people put things on the back to encourage pictures and the use of hashtags to see where the rocks end up. On the back of this one was ‘belikehayley.com’ Something about this rock, with its smiling heart told me I already knew some part of the story.
You see, hearts have a extra special place in our family. Of course each of us has a healthy beating heart, but for my husband, it is all thanks to families like yours and heros like your daughter. My husband is a two time heart transplant recepiant. This past June marked his 25th anniversary with someone else’s heart and his 2nd anniversary with his newest.
I don’t know your pain and suffering, but i want you to know that because of donors like your daughter, my own daughter will grow up with a father. One who loves her, with every beat of his heart(s).
Thank you for sharing your story as hard as it is. Know that those of us on the other side will never know how to say thank you enough.
With endless gratitude
Rebecca