Organ donations helps family cope 10 years later

Organ donations helps family cope 10 years later

By WILLIAM WRIGHT Cleveland Daily Banner Staff Writer

Published June 20, 2007 12:44 PM EDT

A fugitive on drugs with a stolen gun went to the wrong house demanding to see his son. An innocent man was fatally shot in the head.

The fatally wounded man’s mother had just returned home from Erlanger with her mother, who had suffered a heart attack the week before. The phone was ringing when she walked into her home. The words on the other end were shocking. The mother and father rushed back to Erlanger, where their son was taken, crying all the way.

“The hardest thing I ever had to do was to watch my son in the hospital and to lay him in the ground,” said Vicki Lee about her 23-year-old son, Roy Alan Hampton.

“No mother should have to do that with a child. Part of me died that day. I’ll never be the same. But I have to go on. I’m thankful of the life he had here even though it was short.”

At that same time, a 58-year-old man was lying in Vanderbilt Hospital fighting for his life. A virus had set in his heart for an unknown period of time and was slowly destroying it. With only 25 percent of his heart’s capacity left, death was imminent.

The man, James Allen Honaker, was suffering from cardiomyopathy and nothing short of a new heart would save him. It was in that moment two separate families, experiencing untold grief and agony, became one. Roy Alan Hampton was an organ donor.

His mother quoted her son as saying, “If I knew I was not going to live, I would want them to take everything. If I knew I could help only one person it would be worth it all.”

Hampton’s appreciation for the gift of life went beyond mere words. He had signed his driver’s license to make an anatomical gift.

Twenty-eight individuals throughout Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, California and New Mexico have been blessed by Hampton’s being an organ donor, according to Kim Tomlinson, manager of triage services with Tennessee Donor Services.

This June marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of Roy Alan Hampton. Recipients of his vital organs still come to visit Hampton’s parents out of a deep and enduring love that has even surpassed death.

“That was the greatest tribute my son could have given,” said Lee. “Six people were helped with seven vital organs of his. I’ve always said, Alan never was a father but he gave life to six people.”

According to Dawn Benjamin, public education coordinator for Tennessee Donor Services, 96,000 people in the U.S. are on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ. Among that number, 2,000 of those waiting are Tennesseans.

“The national waiting list grows by 1,000 people every month,” said Benjamin. “It is a public health crisis and modern day tragedy that we know how to save lives, but we often are unable to do so because there are too few organs.”

It is estimated one person could potentially help more than 50 people. In 2006, 202 people in Tennessee donated organs that resulted in 674 lifesaving transplants.

Benjamin said in addition to organs, tissues can be donated.

“We call tissues life-enhancing,” Benjamin said. “They improve the quality of life for someone. For example, a cornea transplant can give sight back to a blind person. Other tissues include heart valves, ligaments, bones, skin, veins, tendons and arteries.”

According to Benjamin, in addition to sharing the gift of life with organ recipients, donor families often find comfort in their sorrow.

“In fact, donation often eases their grief because of the knowledge that their personal tragedy gave life to others,” she said.

“It’s really been amazing that so many people might not be here today had it not been for Alan’s decision to be a donor,” said Rusty Lee, Hampton’s stepfather. “We were glad to stand by that decision. That was his wish.”

“We’re proud of every one of them and we appreciate what they have done with their lives since they received these organs. They’re all more thankful to God than ever. As long as they continue to give God the credit and thank him for the blessing, why, it’s just a great feeling.”

Honaker, the 279th heart transplant recipient at Vanderbilt, said he volunteers his time passing out literature about becoming an organ donor as often as he can.

“We both volunteer our time,” said Vicki. “I think there’s probably not enough education out there to know how important organ donation is. But it could be you or your son, daughter, husband or wife laying there dying. What if another stranger was not kind enough to do that?”

“One thing we stress is that it’s very important to talk to your family about your wishes,” said Benjamin. “Education and awareness are the keys to increasing donation and providing these lifesaving transplants. There are several ways to indicate your wishes.

“The most common way is through the Department of Motor Vehicles when you apply for your drivers license by checking “yes” on the application. You can also simply sign the back of your driver’s license or fill out a uniform donor card and carry it with you in your wallet.”

The Tennessee Donor Services is designated by the federal government as the organ recovery agency for 84 counties in Tennessee and eight counties in Southwest Virginia.

http://www.clevelandbanner.com/NF/omf/daily_banner/news_story.html?rkey=0066835+cr=gdn