In response to Ashley Black's letter concerning April being Organ Donation Awareness month, I would also like to ask everyone to consider organ/tissue donation. Unlike Ms. Black though, my family's experience comes from being a donor family.
On Nov. 8, 1999, my dad, Don Mylin, died suddenly of a heart attack. Our family had never discussed organ donation. It never crossed our minds. But when asked in the emergency room that night, my mom, sister and I didn't hesitate. We all said yes at the same time.
Dad was without oxygen too long for his organs to be used for transplant, so he was a tissue donor. In a letter we received from the American Red Cross Tissue Services, we found out that Dad's donation gave the gift of hope and healing to the families of 42 people. People who will know what it is to walk again, to live with less pain or no pain at all, or to return to a quality of life that many had not known for years. Dad changed the lives of: three young adults, two men and one woman ages 26-30; 17 adults, 11 men and six women ages 32-47; 20 older adults, 12 men and eight women ages 55-76.
These 40 people live in California, Illinois, New York and Oklahoma. The gifts they received helped them when they had transplant spinal surgeries, hip and knee replacements as well as skin for burn patients.
Two people that live in northern Indiana received Dad's corneas.
Our family received a medallion from The American Red Cross for being a donor family. Engraved on Dad's headstone is a copy of this medallion and the phrase "Living on in the lives of others." As Dad lives on in our hearts, he also lives on in the hearts and lives of 42 other people and their families.
Please discuss organ and tissue donation with your families and let them know your wishes.
