EDIE AND HAILEY
THIS IS ONE STORY OF ORGAN DONATION, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHERS. IT’S A DEEPLY MOVING PORTRAYAL OF LOVE CIRCULATING AMONG PEOPLE EVEN THROUGH DEATH. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY EXCEPT FOR LOVE. LOVE IS THE CONSTANT. LOVE IS THE MIRACLE IN ITSELF.
Edie and Hailey, mother and daughter, live in Katy, Texas, and were nominated by a longtime friend, Hilary. Hilary says, “Hailey was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was six months old. Throughout the years, while Hailey was in and out of the hospital, I watched Edie become a full-time nurse, psychologist, educator, CF fighter, & breadwinner of the family. In October 2015, at 25 years of age, Hailey’s routine hospital visit turned out to be a life-changing day. She wasn’t going to be leaving without a lung transplant.”
Hailey was in a coma for two months. Hilary says, “Edie had her game face on. She had to stay strong for her only daughter. Edie is a Warrior. On Christmas Day, 2015, their prayers were answered. A set of perfectly matched lungs were on their way for Hailey.” An organ donor's precious life was lost but gave Hailey new life. Because of this, they reached out to the donor’s family to thank them.
Hailey recalls the moment when she connected with her donor's mother, "Gulping through tears, I spilled out a jumble of words trying my best to translate all of the emotion I have felt for my donor over the past six years. She told me how she is now at peace, and the best thing she could have ever said to me was that I ‘deserved these lungs.’ Big fat tears swelled up in me, and at that moment, I felt a giant weight lift off of me. It was like I was taking my first breaths all over again. These lungs have been through so much, and her son lives within me. I want to show him the beauty of the world as I take him on adventures with me; I want to show him happiness in moments he might have missed.”
Hailey continues, “This is one story of organ donation, but there are so many others. It’s a deeply moving portrayal of love circulating among people even through death. Absolutely everything is temporary except for love. Love is the constant. Love is the miracle in itself.”
#donatelife
Hailey was in a coma for two months. Hilary says, “Edie had her game face on. She had to stay strong for her only daughter. Edie is a Warrior. On Christmas Day, 2015, their prayers were answered. A set of perfectly matched lungs were on their way for Hailey.” An organ donor's precious life was lost but gave Hailey new life. Because of this, they reached out to the donor’s family to thank them.
Hailey recalls the moment when she connected with her donor's mother, "Gulping through tears, I spilled out a jumble of words trying my best to translate all of the emotion I have felt for my donor over the past six years. She told me how she is now at peace, and the best thing she could have ever said to me was that I ‘deserved these lungs.’ Big fat tears swelled up in me, and at that moment, I felt a giant weight lift off of me. It was like I was taking my first breaths all over again. These lungs have been through so much, and her son lives within me. I want to show him the beauty of the world as I take him on adventures with me; I want to show him happiness in moments he might have missed.”
Hailey continues, “This is one story of organ donation, but there are so many others. It’s a deeply moving portrayal of love circulating among people even through death. Absolutely everything is temporary except for love. Love is the constant. Love is the miracle in itself.”
#donatelife