Nicole

I recently found out that I needed to have a bone transplant in my upper jaw, or else I would be in danger of losing my molars. With this transplant, I expect to keep my teeth for the rest of my life. However, my story starts long before this back in 2014.

My son, Austin, was in a terrible motorcycle accident, and although his heart never stopped beating, his brain was destroyed. He became an organ, eye, and tissue donor, and I was lucky enough to receive letters from most of the organ recipients, but also two tissue recipients. I now volunteer as an ambassador for Donate Life in Southern California, and no one has ever heard of getting a thank you letter for a tissue donation, and guess what? I’ve received two!

Organ, eye, and tissue donation is by far the most important thing that our family has ever experienced. It is truly the silver lining in a tragic situation, and I am beyond happy to know that Austin was able to help so many people. I learned his tissue donation helped 179 people.