National Donate Life Month

April is National Donate Life Month, and I want to share my son’s story.

On December 18, 2016, my world changed forever.

My son was 28 years old when he died in a car accident. In the middle of the shock and the grief and the unbearable stillness that followed, one thing remained absolutely clear: he was a donor. He had made that choice long before any of us imagined it would matter.

Because of the time it took to get him to the hospital, he wasn’t able to donate major organs. But that didn’t stop him from changing lives. My son still gave everything he could: veins, arteries, bone, tissue, his irises, and more. Even in death, he showed up for others.

And then the letters started coming.

One was from a young woman, a gymnast, who had been in a devastating accident. Doctors weren’t sure she would ever walk again. But because of my son’s donation, she regained the ability to move, to stand, to reclaim her life. She wrote to tell us that his gift didn’t just repair her body, it restored her future.

Another letter came from someone who had been blind. Because of my son’s irises, they could see again. They described waking up to light, to color, to the faces of the people they loved. They told us that every sunrise they witness is because of him.

These letters didn’t erase the grief. But they gave it shape. They gave it purpose. They reminded us that even in the darkest moment of our lives, my son created light for someone else. That is what organ and tissue donation is.

It is hope in the middle of heartbreak.

It is healing born from tragedy.

It is one person’s final act becoming another person’s second chance.

April is Organ Donation Month, and if you’ve ever wondered whether registering as a donor makes a difference, I want you to know this: it does. Even when major organs can’t be recovered, there are dozens of ways a donor can save or transform lives.

My son didn’t get to grow old. But he lives on, in the steps of a young woman who walks again, in the eyes of someone who can see the world, and in the countless people whose lives were touched by the parts of him he gave away.

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a donor, or if you’ve been unsure, I hope his story encourages you to say yes.

Yes to generosity.

Yes to compassion.

Yes to giving someone else a tomorrow.

One decision can change everything. My son proved that.