by Mandy Montgomery Anniversaries, holidays, and celebrations are never easy…especially when you’re in quarantine. I never thought in a million years that we would be sharing our favorite holiday virtually. But alas, we did. Through quarantine, our closest family members weren’t able to see each other. We all hunkered down and took shelter in place as instructed. After all, our parents and grandparents both struggle from being in the high-risk Read More »

Unexpected. That’s how Kevin Sheets describes the loss of Michelle, a wife and mother of two who gave the gift of life to help others. If there was one light in the darkness, it’s that Kevin knew Michelle felt strongly about becoming an organ and tissue donor. “Since our boys were born, we decided we would always be donors. Once your soul is out of your body, if there is Read More »

Being a mother is the best! Notice I didn’t say easy, and I didn’t say it always works out the way you had planned. Justin was and always will be my first-born son. He is the one that received all of the “big” gifts first – from a battery operated truck to laptops to automobiles, and until Kyle was born, all of the attention. Both of my sons continue to Read More »

By Jamie Rivas, Director, Family and Donor Services As a clinical social worker, there have been these moments throughout my career in which I realize that the greatest thing we can do in our field is reach out and help one another. By simply offering assistance to others, together we can make a difference in all communities. Now is exactly one of those times. To be a social worker in the world of healthcare Read More »

By Laura Weiger, Manager, Family Services Being a social worker, to me, means being an advocate, an educator, a support and a guide. Within our mission at Indiana Donor Network specifically, it means meeting people in their times of crisis and grief and understanding that, while we can not change this reality for them, we can be present with them and support them through it. It also means that, while Read More »

By Stephanie Guagliardo, Aftercare Support Coordinator I have recently started to pursue my Master’s degree in Social Work. I hope that this degree will help me understand different perspectives and challenges, as grief is one of the many things that donor families may be dealing with. For instance, a donor family may not only be grieving the loss of a spouse but may also now be a single parent. Grief Read More »

How I feel when I do the Handmade Hope is happy, comfortable, sometimes sad. When I do Handmade Hope is when I actually look at the photos and think, where was I then and what I was doing. When I do go to the Indiana Donor Network and see and meet some families there because of Handmade Hope, is simply amazing and makes me wonder who they lost and what Read More »