 His legacy |
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Liver recipient letter to us
This letter, dated May 31, 2007, was forwarded to us after I had sent a letter to each recipient letting them know my feelings and hopes in one day being able to meet each and everyone of them. But, also to let them know that we are all now one large extended family.
To the donor family,
Thank you so much for your letter to the organ recipients and your offer to keep in touch with us. I am one of those blessed with your son's gift of life. I received part of your son's liver and I think about him and his family all the time. I could never thank you enough for the decision to donate. It was truly my gift of life and I will forever by thankful.
I was pretty sick prior to my transplant and did not think I would see my four boys grow up. Thanks to your decision I now feel better than I have in years. I am back to work and. more importantly. I am able to spend lots of quality time with my wife and kids. I am able to coach my seven and eight year olds' baseball team which is something I love to do but did not have the strength prior to surgery. In 2 weeks I will watch my two older boys graduate from high school and I will be able to celebrate the occasion with my extended family, something I did not think was possible 18 months ago.
I do not know what the future holds but I will enjoy the present and it's all thanks to you and your decision made to donate the organs that saved my life. I will forever be grateful and will continue to think of you and your son daily. In your letter you were open to keeping in touch with the recipients and maybe some day meeting them. I wanted to let you know that I would love to keep in touch and if the opportunity presented itself where I could meet you I would love that too, who would not want to keep in touch with or meet their heros.
The decision you made under circumstances that I cannot even imagine, was a life saving decision to me and you will ways be my heros. Thank you for your willingness to keep in touch and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Sincerely and forever thankful,
Jim Barnes & Family (Starla,David, Jacob, Joey, & Josh)
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Christmas card from Heart recipient
This card was dated December 2005, so it out of order in this listing. Again, please remember that this decision about donation was David's, we only put it in place for him.
To the Donor Family:
We cannot find the appropriate word to express to each one of you our gratitude for the kindest and most admirable act anyone can ever render to another person in need. You have placed your grief and pain aside to give a stranger a second chance in life, and for this magnanimous act of generosity, we thank you.
Thanking you may not be enough, so in addition, we offer our prayers for you and your family; that in your grief you may be consoled by someone beyond our realm, and that your days ahead will be filled with love and peace.
Our meeting and getting to know each other may never take place, but please be assured tht you are, and always will be, in our prayers. We shall be forever in your debt.
May you and your family find peace and joyduring the holidays, and may all your years ahead be filled with happiness, prosperity, and good health.
Again, our eternal gratitude!
The Family of the Recipient of the Greatest Gift of all....LIFE
The card cover is gold and blue with angels flying across the front with trumpets. The salutation inside the card is: "and, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shoe round about them..." Luke 2:9
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Donor recipient update
The following was sent to us on September 21, 2006 from the California Transplant donor Network: Please keep in mind that David made the decision himself about being a donor, we only put it in place.
It's now been more than a year since your son, David's death and the subsequent Gift of Life that you and your family decided to give to the transplant recipients whose lives were so dramatically impacted by your generous decision.
I have now received the final routine update on David's transplant recipients. I am pleased to report that this update finds all 4 of the recipients doing as well as six months ago. They are home, healthy and have good organ function. On behalf of these recipietns and their families, thank you. Their lives and the lives of their families have been forever changed by your heroic decision.
......
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Liver recipient
The following letter, dated January 23, 2006 was forwarded to us by the Donor Network from one of the liver recipients. Again, this decision was made by David to be a donor. We just put it in place when became necessary.
To the donor family,
I just don't know exactly where to begin or what to say and I have tried to write this letter 100 times, but I can never seem to find the right words to tell you just how thankful I am and how thankful my family is that you decided to donate the organs of a loved one lost and I hope you can find some peace in the fact that your decision to donate saved at least my life and most probably the life of many others too. I can only imagine the pain you must have endured with your loss but I am living proof that your decision to donate was the right one.
I am a Father of 4 boys ages 5 through 17, and was placed on the liver transplant list in May of 2005. I was getting sicker by the day and really had no quality of life. I was always sick and tired. We were exploring the possibility of getting a living donor but my sisters turned out not to be a good match for various reasons and by brother i law was being tested for compatibility on August 30, 2005, the day I gat a call telling me there was a donated liver, another piece went to a baby who the last I heard was doing well.
I am writing this letter 5 months post surgery and I am doing very well. I am back to work and enjoying life again, but wanted to let you know that I think aboutmy donor and the donor's family everyday and will forever be thankful for the verydifficult decision you made during a very difficult and emotional time. If you would like I would someday love to meet and thank you in person, but for now this will have to do. I thank you for my life, my wife thanks you for her husband, my dids' thank you for their Father, my Mother thanks you for her son and my sisters thank you for their brother, you will alwasy be in our hearts and have our eternal gratitude.
Sincerely & Eternally Grateful
Jim & Starla Barnes
and the entire Barnes family
As an after note: My Great Grandmother's (I think) maiden name was Barnes.
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Update on donor recipients
The following is a quote from letter received April 14, 2006 (day after David's first birthday after death).
Dear Ms. Thompson,
As the Donor Family Advocate with the California Transplant Donor network, please accept my continued condolences and support as you move past the six month anniversary of your son, David's, death. Grief is a process that feels differently for each individual person. It is a process that can take months or years, and can ebb like the waves of the ocean. I do hope you are finding ways to support yourself and your family as your healing takes place.
As you requested, I would like to provide you with an update on David"s recipients at this time. I am pleased to report that all four of the recipients continue to be in good health, and active. On behalf of these recipients, and that of their families, thank you. Their lives have been forever changed by your courqgeous decision.
Warmest Regards,
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Donation of David's organs
On September 26, 2007 We received a letter from the California Transplant Donor Network which I will quote here.
"Dear Ms. Thompson,
We would like to express our deepest sympathy to you and your family for the loss of your son, David. Your family's kindness and generosity have dramatically changed the lives of waiting transplant recipients. We woul like to share the outcome of David's donation in the hope that this information will comfort you in the weeks and months ahead.
Both kidneys and the heart were successfully transplanted. One of the recipients is a married man from Pennsylvania. He is 63 years old and has 4 children. The recipient of the other kidney as well as the heart is a married man from Northern California. He would not have survived without this lifesaving transplant. Both of these recipients are looking forward to healthier and more active lives, free of dialysis.
Consent was also given for the recovery of the liver and lungs. The liver was recovered and two individuals were able to receive this special gift. One of ;the recipients is a 10 month old boy from Northern California. the other recipient is a married man from the Bay Area. He is 48 years old and has 4 sons. These recipients would not have survived without these lifesaving transplants. Because of your generosity, (and David's wishes) you have forever changed the life of these recipients, as well as the lives of their family and friends.
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