Honoring Our Donor Hero at the 5K

Our son died at the age of 22 in 2017. He was an organ donor and that opened the door to the miraculous Indiana Donor Network. Through the aftercare support team at Indiana Donor Network, we had the opportunity to meet Joe’s liver recipient, Kim. Joe’s liver saved her life. We had not yet met her, but we had exchanged contact information and had a phone conversation. Our family wasn’t planning to participate in the Indiana Donor Network 5K, but Kim reached out to see if we would walk with her if she captained a team for the 5k. We immediately rallied the family to walk with us and we made plans for the 5K to be our first official meeting of Kim.

We were thrilled to finally meet Kim in-person. Meeting her was emotional and rewarding. We felt as though we were kindred spirits, drawn together by Joseph.

Beyond meeting Joe’s liver recipient, the entire experience of honoring Joseph at the 5K was uplifting and rewarding. The event was so much fun. We found that all the participants shared the common ground of triumph through tragedy.

The Garden of Hope was impactful. Being confronted with the loss of a loved one is always challenging and sad, but the excitement of the event and the experience of meeting so many survivors who received organ transplants tempered the sadness with pride, respect and joy in the knowledge that our loved one’s wish to save others had come true.

All in all, it was a great day: emotional and rewarding, uplifting and a powerful way to celebrate the gift of life and honor a deceased loved one who is an organ donor hero.