014 | Dear Donor Family
014 | Dear Donor Family
As I have mentioned on Instagram, I recently had ACL replacement surgery due to a skiing accident this past winter. As a part of my surgery, I received a tissue donation. Think organ donation only tissue.
Being an organ donator myself, I had never heard of a tissue donation until my preop. (I thought I was getting some sort of machine part.) You never really think about people needing not lifesaving parts, but quality of life organs and donations are just as important to many, many recipients. The gift of tissue donation will allow me to live my life to the fullest…after a full recovery.
I am thankful for many things in my life. This is one of the best gifts I have ever received. Below is the letter I am sending to my donor’s family.
Please consider being an organ/tissue donor. Make a sad situation hopeful for someone else. You never know who you could help.
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Dear Donor Family:
While I understand this letter may be bittersweet to receive, I wanted to be sure to take the time to recognize the selfless gift your loved one gave me (and others) as an organ/tissue donor. Thank you doesn’t seem to be enough when you have lost someone so precious, but I hope to provide you with some comfort as well as honor the memory of one of my best friend’s brother by writing you this note. He, like your family member, was an organ/tissue donor and I know they would have loved to hear from the recipients’ lives he impacted.
The gift your loved one gave to me is selfless and provides others a quality of life that we would not have without it. In my case, this gift may not be lifesaving, but it is really special to me as it will allow me to continue to live my life to the fullest.
My name is Kelly… your loved one’s ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) allograft recipient. I tore my ACL doing the sport I love more than any in the world…skiing. I grew up skiing with my family every other weekend and have continued to love the sport ever since. I have been an active skier for 35 years without an injury. Two months before my wedding and 40th birthday, I was out West to celebrate with some girlfriends and I tore my ACL.
The gift of this tissue donation was simply the best wedding and birthday gift combined I received this year. It will allow my husband and I to continue things we enjoy like traveling the world, spending time with our aging parents, spoiling our 6 nieces and nephews, our growing careers we are passionate about, enjoying the little things…long bike rides, walks, friends, family, and each other, and hopefully a child of our own someday.
On a personal note, I will be able to enjoy one of my favorite past times after I achieve a full recovery…skiing. There is nothing quite like the thrill to me…the feeling at the top of the mountain, coming off the chair lift with a view as far as you can see, taking a deep breath, getting yourself ready for the challenge mother nature has laid before you.
Also, I want you to know my thank you goes beyond this letter. Every physical therapy session I go to, every step I take…it is a daily acknowledgement and sense of gratitude for your loved one’s donor tissue reinstating my quality of life. I only hope one day my body can provide someone else this same gift as I plan to pay it forward when my time comes.
In closing, I offer you and your family my condolences and have enclosed a verse that provides me comfort in difficult times. Please know your family is in my thoughts, heart, and prayers as you navigate life without your loved one.
Thank you. With love,
Kelly
