Organ Donation: One Families Story

A bright, sunny Sunday afternoon in March of 2006 started out as any other day. Lewis Wayne Haggy set out with his friend, Levi Earley, There was no way for my family to know that my cousin, Wayne, would wreak his 2000 Polaris ATV and we've spend the next six days in a waiting room, praying for a miracle.

For unknown reasons, Wayne's attention was taken off the road and towards the sky. His friend said he started pointing upwards toward the sky, and when Levi looked where Wayne pointed, he only saw the blue clear sky. Then the accident happened.

The ATV's collided, and Wayne was ejected. With severe head trauma, he was air lifted to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. He was rushed to surgery, but because of the severe nature of the head wound, there was nothing more the doctors could do. They didn't want to come out and tell us that we would lose him, they just told us that the chances of him making it through this were slim to none. He was placed in ICU. We were told he probably wouldn't make it through the night.

The first night at ICU a nurse stopped by where our family had gathered in the waiting room, and asked if we wanted to donate Wayne's organs. When our family was faced with the need to consider donating Wayne's organs, my first thought was selfishness. It's not a very kind or humane thought for me to have, but I was losing a loved one, watching him slowly fade away from us everyday. Who did these hospital personal think they were, asking us to care about helping someone else when we couldn't help the person we loved. We discussed it as a family and came to the only conclusion that made any sense in this mess that had happened.

We decided to donate his organs because if Wayne didn't make it, we didn't want his death to be meaningless. He was such a giving person in life, doing everything he could for his friends and strangers; we wanted his giving nature to extend to when he was no longer with us. Wayne hung on for six days before leaving us for good.

Just a few of the lives that have been forever changed by donating Wayne's organs.

A 20 year old engaged mother of an infant son received his heart. She keeps in close contact with our family to this day. She's is a beautiful person, inside and out. I couldn't have imagined Wayne's heart going to a better person.

A 58 year old married father to four children, grandfather of three grandchildren with another on grandchild due in April, received Wayne's liver. Diagnosed with liver disease in 1997, while on the list to receive a liver he developed liver cancer. Being told he had less then five years to live, he fought the cancer with chemo and radiation. Finally doctors decided he was well enough to be placed on the list. In just two weeks, he was informed that a liver was possible. It was a miracle that he was placed back on the list to receive a liver when he was.

A 49 year old married man with two teenage sons received one of Wayne's kidneys. Before the transplant he'd became disabled. Since receiving the kidney he's been able to return to his previous employment.

A 68 year old married woman who suffered from diabetes received the other of Wayne's kidneys. She's been doing very well and "feeling great" since she received his kidney.

Each person wrote a letter to our family. You can read the sincerity of their thanks in the details of words they give. Nothing will ever bring Wayne back but his memories will forever live in our minds and hearts, and his life was not lost without something good coming from it. Too many lives were changed on March 11, 2006 when Wayne passed away. My families was heartbreaking and full of sorrow, but miles away, at least four people's family finally felt a sense of hope, they were given their loved ones back.

Ultimately, I have a friend that lost his father to heart failure while on the list to receive a heart transplant. His father died in his arms four years to the day before Wayne passed away. We've spent a lot of time talking about things, and seeing and understanding his lose due to the lack of organ donations and reading the letters from people that has received a donation and has changed their lives, I can't imagine anyone not willing donating organs and saving lives.

Sources: LifeShare letters sent to our family.