Stacy

In 2007, I was traveling around the country with a friend following our favorite band, Weezer, on tour. I was the passenger in a car when we were t-boned by a semi-truck. I had my feet against the dashboard when we were hit and ended up shattering almost every bone from my hip down. My biggest fear was I would never walk, run, or jump again. I went through multiple surgeries and a full year of physical therapy hours away from my family in a different state.

When I learned I had received donor tissue, I felt like I had a new mission in life, to honor the gift I was given. Without the gift of donation, I would not be able to climb the bleachers at football and basketball games to watch my daughter perform with her high school marching band. I wouldn’t be able to run and play with my four dogs in the yard or enjoy the little things in life because at one point I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to do them again.

I now work at Community Tissue Services, and I believe it is the best way to honor the gift I’ve been given. I am also registered as an organ and tissue donor. Before my accident, I never had a second thought about organ and tissue donation. But due to the generosity of another person, I realize just how important it really is, and how it can completely change someone’s life.