Six years ago today Jay Gulotta passed away… He took his life for reasons none of us may ever know… He left behind a precious son and daughter, Jay R. and Elizabeth, and precious wife, Annie – but he left another legacy as well…
In the years before, as their children got their drivers licenses, they discussed organ donation. As a family, they all knew how one another felt about organ donation – they all felt it was a good thing.
Sometimes, being a hero starts long before you become someone’s personal hero… That’s why discussing this among family is so important – when everything is lost in a fog of pain and confusion, some choices can be seen clearly…
I can’t imagine the pain they experienced six years ago today – but I think I understand the strength they gathered when they stepped back from that pain for just a moment, and made the decision to donate Jay’s organs… Jay’s heart went to a 55-year-old man, his left kidney to a 42-year-old woman and his right kidney to a 16-year-old girl…
Annie could have left it at that – she could have received the letter from Gift of Hope telling her about the lives Jay and his family impacted, and she could have simply been thankful that they made a difference and moved on with her life… And that would have been more than enough. But she’s done so much more… After donating Jay’s organs – in his memory she’s taken up the torch to tell others how special and important organ donation truly is…
This is one of my favorite pictures of Anne. I think that this picture of Annie reflects the strength I always see in her… I met Annie four years ago – a few months after Gift of Hope had this picture taken for their 2005 calendar. When I met her she had already been promoting organ donation, and speaking to groups about her journey and letting them know how important and special organ donation is… We decided that we’d make a good team when speaking to groups. Anne speaks from the donor family perspective and helps people understand what it means to give a gift like this – then I tell people what it’s like to receive a gift like this – what it’s like to be facing certain death, and having some person and family give you your life back… Or maybe even give you a life better than you’ve ever known…
Anne has met the 42-year-old woman who has Jay’s kidney – her name is Julie and she lives in Havana, Illinois… Annie took me and Laura to Havana to meet Julie two years ago, and to plant a tree in Havana in Jay’s memory … In the same way I think about Kari, I know that Julie thinks about Jay every day… She thinks about the gift she’s been given, and the extra years of life she’s been given…
Anne and I have spoken to many groups for Gift of Hope – In 2005, we both received the “Echo of Life Award” from Gift of Hope for the work we’ve done telling people about Jay and about Kari and about the impact organ donation has on both donor families and recipients... Anne has also climbed the “Hustle up the Hancock” four times. We use the Hustle as a platform to tell people about organ donation and it’s always an honor to me to have a donor family member on my team! I posted about Anne and Jay and Julie in January in this post titled Climbing with Anne… My Jenn has a beautiful comment about Anne at the end of that post…
Because of Annie, many more people have a better understanding about organ donation, and about giving the gift of life… I can’t imagine how many lives will be saved because of her influence…
Six years ago today, Jay passed away… Because of things they talked about as a family, and decisions they made as a family – and because of Anne, so much good has happened in the wake of that tragedy.
