THE SUN IS SHINING, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are chirping. It’s a beautiful day to celebrate the gift of life! Did you know that one person has the power to save up to eight lives through organ donation? It costs nothing. It means everything.
Katie Gankosky’s niece, Julia, was diagnosed with heart failure as a baby and desperately needed a heart transplant. On June 23, 2001, when she was only 8 months old, tiny-yet-feisty Julia received a life-saving heart transplant. Julia’s gift of life allowed her to participate in a variety of sports, serve as captain of the junior varsity color guard team, participate in honors choir, teach herself how to play the ukulele, and win multiple medals at the Donate Life Transplant Games of America, an Olympic-style competition for transplant recipients that showcases the power of organ donation.
Sadly, Julia passed away on February 28, 2022, but Katie is grateful that Julia’s heart transplant gave her an extra 20 years, eight months, and six days of life.
Additionally, Katie’s nephew, Blake, was born with an enlarged heart and also needed a transplant. His gift of life came on January 3, 2010, when he was only seven months old. Blake’s heart transplant has allowed him to be a normal kid with no physical limitations. He has played a variety of sports, and the now 15-year-old is a sophomore in high school who is looking forward to getting his driver’s license this summer.
Katie is forever grateful for the donor heroes and their families who made life possible for her niece and nephew. “The most selfless gift a family can give in their time of darkness is light to another family through organ donation. As a two-time pediatric heart transplant family, we are forever grateful for the gifts of life given to our young family. A chance to live, laugh, love, and grow as every child should have. The gift of life is truly priceless,” Katie said.
The gift of life starts with incredibly generous people like Larry Hilton.
Larry was a mechanic and supervisor in the Motor Vehicle Department at the University of Toledo for more than 25 years. He enjoyed taking apart and fixing anything with a motor and even fashioned handmade tools. Larry enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking, and boating; riding his Harley; and cheering on the Buckeyes, Packers, and Tigers. Above all else, Larry was a family man, and he was devoted to his wife, Debbie, and their three children.
Tragically, Larry’s motorcycle was struck on his way to work and he passed away on August 31, 2013, at the age of 54. “We prayed for a miracle. Our prayers weren’t to be answered, but at the same time we were praying, there was someone else praying for the gift of life,” Debbie said.
That day, Larry saved four lives through organ donation—a decision that reflected Larry’s incredible generosity. “He gave so much all of his life, and I knew that he would want to give the gift of life. Through all of our pain, organ donation gave me such peace and such comfort at a time when comfort was hard to find,” Debbie said.
Every year to honor Larry, Debbie organizes Team Hilton at Life Connection of Ohio and Solvita’s Hero Hustle 5K in celebration of his life-saving legacy. “Life Connection of Ohio embraces you like you’re family. They lifted us up when we couldn’t stand, and they still carry me,” Debbie said.
Life Connection of Ohio is proud to offer an aftercare program for donor families whose loved ones have given the gift of life through organ donation. Life Connection of Ohio’s Family Aftercare Coordinators companion donor families along their grief journeys. The aftercare program includes bereavement support, grief workshops, and opportunities for donor families to honor their loved one’s life-saving legacy, just to name a few. After the 24-month program concludes, donor families are encouraged to join Life Connection of Ohio’s volunteer family for continuous support.
Life Connection of Ohio is the nonprofit organization that serves families and saves lives through organ donation in northwest and west central Ohio. To learn more about organ donation or to say “yes” to saving lives, visit lifeconnection.org. Kara Steele is Director of Community Services for Life Connection of Ohio. ✲
