Revive Hope

13 kidney pairs

Good morning!!  I came across this story on CNN yesterday and wanted to share it with you!! It is a very touching story about a kidney pairing program that successfully transplanted 13 kidneys, 11 of whom were minorities.  This is great news and I'm excited to share the story with you all!!

 

Clip from the article:

"According the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health, the rate of organ donation in minority communities does not keep pace with the number needing transplants. Many times, it's because of fear of the medical community or mistrust of the system.

Health experts say that's unfortunate. A report by HHS noted, "although minorities donate in proportion to their share of the population, their need for transplants is much greater."

African Americans, the report said, make up about 13 percent of the population and about 12 percent of donors, but they represent 23 percent of the patients on the kidney waiting list. Citing the critical need, Melancon [Patterson's Doctor] is urging minorities to join the exchange programs.

"It's very important for minorities to receive living transplants, because their outcome with deceased donor transplants are not as good as everyone else," Melancon said.

Additionally, years of dialysis can lead to a build-up of antibodies, which can cause rejection of the new organ. That's especially true for minorities, because they tend to stay on dialysis much longer. Patients who have this build-up of antibodies receive a blood cleansing procedure called plasmapheresis to trick their bodies into accepting the kidney without rejection."

Both the article and video says, it is extremely important that minorities become organ donors and get involved in the organ pairing programs.  According to UNOS, as of December 11, 2009 there were 113,801 individuals waiting for a life saving transplant. Of those individuals only 52,296 were caucasian registrants. The remaining 61,505 primarily consists of African American (33,075) and Hispanic (19,932) registrants.

So lets start spreading the news about living donation and how important it is for everyone, especially minorities, to consider!!

Family Circle Garden - Rose Dedications...

I’m stealing again… A few days ago, Scott posted about the Donate Life Rose Dedication Program, and about our Gift of Hope Illinois float rider, Anne Gulotta. She wrote a beautiful little note about the Family Circle Garden – about the opportunity to participate in the Donate Life Float and the Rose Parade by dedicating a rose on the float to a donor, donor family, recipient, or someone touched by organ donation:

A beautiful event will take place on New Year’s Day on the Donate Life Float.

Twenty four float riders will gather at 5 a.m. Pacific time to take the ride of their life. Among all the fragrant and colorful flowers that cover the 55 foot long Donate Life float, a special area will be dedicated to the Family Circle Garden. The Family Circle Rose Dedication Program offers families touched by organ and tissue donation the opportunity to honor their loved ones by dedicating a rose that is tagged with a personal message and placed in the Family Circle Garden. The Garden is a living memorial of the Donate Life Rose Parade Float.

Families and organizations can participate. Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Ill. is one of many participating hospitals who will be participating. This is a special event, and there will be a ceremony in Pasadena focused on placing the roses on the float. Viewers will be fixated on the majestic Phoenix which rises 30 feet into the air. The extraordinary display of roses will also be a highlight.

As an Ambassador for Gift of Hope and Donate Life, my role is to promote organ donation. In doing so I would like to extend to you my service and offer to place a rose(s) in your honor of the person you are honoring. If you have never dedicated a rose on the float, I strongly urge you to do so. There will be over 3000 roses dedicated, and I hope to be photographing and documenting the event. I hear it’s a tear-jerker.

It’s easy to sign up for the program. You can read dedications that have been posted. If you have already dedicated a rose(s) let me know who you are, and I will ask permission to place the rose in your honor.

The Rose Dedication program has been a way for me and my family to honor Jay and the lives he saved. A woman by the name of “Rose” once said; “We a make a living by what we get, We make a life by what we give.”

That’s what organ donation is all about. Giving life to others. So, it’s important that we occasionally honor those who’ve been touched by organ and tissue donation.

~ Anne

I was able to do this last year – I was able to place roses for Kari and Chloe, and for several people who are very special to me. Annie’s note prompted me to do what I’ve been meaning to do for two or three months now – I finally did it today. Can you believe that I’m only allowed 200 characters for the dedication? I sneeze more characters than that… Maybe that’s why I procrastinate – I find it difficult to say all I want to say in 10,000 words, much less 200 characters. This is the dedication I sent today:

Kari, It’s been almost 10 years. You’ve given me so much more than breath and life; you’ve given me your friends. They share as if they were with you yesterday; they’ll never forget you. Love, Steve

You too can dedicate a rose to someone you’ve loved and lost, or someone who saved your life or saved the life of someone you love. There are a wide range of packages that include keepsakes and remembrances, and you can find them and order through this link to the Donate Life Family Circle.

Video from our 2009 rose dedication ceremony:

He never stops giving thanks for the gift of life...

This afternoon, we’ll have our Thanksgiving meal at my little sister, Karen’s home. Mom will say grace – she usually does – and at the end of her prayer, she will give thanks for a 17-year-old girl and her family. She does this on Thanksgiving – but not only on Thanksgiving – we hear her do this at every meal we have with her. And often enough – she stumbles over a few of the words while she holds back tears. Her son, who she likely thought would not live that long, is here, but the thought of losing him has probably crossed her mind several times. She did not have to experience that because of another family who lost their precious daughter, and had the courage and compassion to follow through on her wishes.

Two weeks ago, I met a man who wrote a beautiful little column on the tavern/restaurant where Laura and I and our friends go regularly… Laura and I had our wedding reception there twenty-some years ago and we are there for breakfast quite regularly. Many of Kari’s friends have been there with us too. He wrote about Blackie’s… Carm, one of our regular waitresses there pointed him out when we had breakfast a few weeks ago and we stopped over to thank him for writing the article. Apparently, Carm had already suggested to him that he might want to check out my story but, before he could really ask, my wallet was already out and I was showing him pictures of Kari… I met him for lunch at Blackie’s a few days later – this is his Thanksgiving column:

He never stops giving thanks for the gift of life
Don Terry, Chicago Sun-Times
Thursday, November 26, 2009

Every Thanksgiving, before the turkey gets carved and the sweet potato pie is pulled out of the oven, I make a thankful-for list in my head.

This year it includes my thanks that my mother is almost 92 and can still pick up and carry her 2-year-old great granddaughter, Little Miss Hurricane.

I'm thankful that my beautiful wife still laughs at most of my jokes and that I have more hair than my brother, although he will argue the point down to the last silvery strand.

I'm also thankful that my job allows me to meet a guy like Steve Ferkau, and through him, the deceased Iowa teenager who saved his life.

I met Steve for lunch the other day at Blackie's in the South Loop. When his grilled cheese sandwich and coke arrived, he pulled a plastic medication box from his pocket and popped a few of the 35 pills he takes daily to survive.

He has diabetes and high blood pressure. His kidneys are beginning to "go south" because of all the medication he has to take.

"By the end of the year,'' he said, "I could be in kidney failure."

Yet, as far as he is concerned, every day is Thanksgiving.

"I've smoked the odds," he told me, with a huge smile.

Ten years ago, Steve needed an oxygen tank to breath. It took him 25 minutes to walk two blocks.

He was 40, and he was dying of a lifetime of cystic fibrosis. The only thing that could save him was a double lung transplant.

He was placed on a waiting list. Four times he received the call to Rush hospital, told that a donor had been found.

"There were four false alarms," he said. "The first time was devastating. It happened a week after my father died."

The fifth time he was called there was a perfect match. A 17-year-old girl from a small town in Iowa had died the day before her junior prom after a blood vessel burst in her brain.

The girl was a star on her high school volleyball team. Her strong heart went to a 50-year-old woman. Her powerful lungs went to Steve on April 8, 2000.

Six days after the surgery, Steve was released from the hospital. Ten weeks after that he was back to work at the Chicago Stock Exchange.

"I have not called in sick in the nine years since then," he said.

Steve eventually learned the girl's name, Kari Westberg. He and his wife, Laura, got to know her parents and some of her high school classmates. He visited Kari's grave.

"I think of her when I get up in the morning and when I go to sleep at night," he said. "She didn't die because of me, but I am alive because of her."

For the last eight years, Steve has helped raise nearly $200,000 in Kari's honor for lung disease research by climbing stairs -- 94 stories at a time -- in the "Hustle up the Hancock" in February.

The first time he hustled up, Steve raised $9,000 in pledges. He was climbing by himself then. Over the years he has been joined by dozens of teammates. They call themselves Kari's Klimbers.

A group of Kari's friends from high school travel to Chicago to climb with Steve and Melissa Simon, 29, a heart transplant recipient from Westchester, who made the climb for the first time last year.

"I had quite a few of Kari's friends cheering me to the top," Melissa said.

It took her 32 minutes. It usually takes Steve longer because he stops to talk with volunteers along the way, thanking them and showing them the photograph of Kari he always carries.

Steve has started training for this February's Hustle by walking the stairs of his South Loop high rise. He's trying not to think about his deteriorating kidneys.

If someday Steve needs a kidney transplant, one of Kari's friends has volunteered to give him one of hers.

Just so you know – my kidneys are “heading South”, but they’re still in pretty good shape – I still probably have some years out of them, but you just never know… And though Rush took care of me up through transplant, I received Kari’s beautiful lungs at Loyola – I probably misspoke in the excitement of telling my story… As anyone who knows me is aware, I do go off on tangents now and then when I chat!

I have more to be thankful for than most – and among those many things I’m thankful for, I’m also thankful for people like Don Terry, who take the time to tell stories about others. And I’m thankful for Kari, and the family who raised her and instilled in her how special the gift of life truly is…

When you’re giving thanks throughout this season – think about the gifts you can leave for others when you leave this beautiful planet… Think about organ donation.

What "Thanks" Means to Me...

I'm just outright stealing this from Scott over at I am. Are you? And I will be stealing in the future too - but maybe in the future I'll just reference the post and link you over there... Scott's post is a note from my friend Annie, who gets to ride the Donate Life Float in the Rose Parade this coming New Year's Day. Scott will be posting messages from Anne periodically up to, and through her ride on the float. I got to tell my stories last year (with Scott's help too)... I want Anne to have her chance to tell her stories this year!  Here is a link to Scott's post, "What 'Thanks' Means to Me" 

Back in August, we unveiled Illinois’ 2010 Donate Life Rose Parade Float Rider, Anne Gulotta. She will be paying tribute to her husband Jay, who was a donor in 2002 in addition to honoring Cameron Chana of Clarendon Hills, Ill. who was a donor earlier this year. Both Cameron and Jay will be represented through floragraphs on the Float.

From now through December, we’ll feature a series of posts from Anne and the Chana family to help provide insight into what it means to honor organ/tissue donors and help promote the issue on a national scale through the Float.

At previous meetings with Anne, she has continually mentioned the theme of “thanks” in regard to the feelings that arise when we think of those that have given the gift of life. In light of Thanksgiving, I asked Anne to provide some further insight on the theme.

Thank you Anne and Happy T-Day and safe travels to all!

-Scott

What "Thanks" Means to Me

I’m very excited to share my journey with you to the 2010 Rose Bowl Parade. As you may know, Steve Ferkau has passed the baton to me this year, and promised to teach me the crucial parade float crowd wave. I’ve known Steve since 2005 when we met after a photo shoot for the annual Gift of Hope calendar.

Soon after, Steve and I were presenting together, quickly earning our reputation as the Dynamic Duo. I talk about my experience as a donor family and wife, and Steve talks about the lifesaving double lung transplant he received from his donor, Kari. For that he is grateful, and gives thanks every day of his life.

You may have seen a rendition of the float A New Life Rises. A phoenix rises from the ashes bringing hope to others. My son JR is an aspiring singer songwriter. He said to me one day; “Mom, in memory of dad and in honor of the lives he saved I’m writing a song.” The melody came quickly, but the words did not. How would he express the loss of his father, and still honor those who received the gift of life? It was pretty easy for him once he gave it some thought, and soon “Thank You” was written.

In just a few days we will all give thanks to the bountiful meal put in front of us. At our house we are pretty traditional. Turkey, stuffing (two kinds), potatoes (two kinds), and a bunch of other stuff including homemade pumpkin pie. It’s a tradition in our house to go around the table and give thanks for something that has brought meaning to our lives. JR puts it eloquently in the song when he writes and I paraphrase; ” Of all these thoughts holding me, I feel strength in belief of a new life rising out of me, I can see hope in what I need, a purpose driving me.”

After Jay (my husband of 18 years) died I felt very alone, but soon I was involved with Gift of Hope delivering a message of hope, love, and strength. I’m grateful for the strength to tell my story, and the purpose that now drives me to tell my story. Sometimes we need to reach deep into our souls to look past hurt and grief to find the good and be thankful.

Jay saved many lives. His left kidney recipient is Julie. Julie would not be alive today if it wasn’t for the gift of life Jay gave to her. I’ve gotten to know Julie quit well, and I will write more about that later. I give thanks to Jay every day. Julie is an extraordinary human being. She is kind, loving, and strong. Julie, her husband Ed, and all their friends and family give thanks to organ donation, because Jay lives on. Julie is a testimony to that.

Organ donation has a ripple effect. So many lives have been touched by the gift of life that one person gave. Jay’s heart was given to a 55-year-old man, his right kidney to a 16-year-old girl, and he gave someone sight. He donated tissue too and part of his liver was donated. Life carries on, and the relationships I have formed in the past seven years are precious. I am very close to JR and my daughter Elizabeth, and although I lost my best friend and husband, I have a new friend in Julie. I say thank you to them all.

Enjoy this holiday season. Eat the turkey and savor the pumpkin pie, and when you wake up each morning, give thanks for something in your life.

-Anne

Iowa bound... and Hustlin' up the Hancock...

Laura and I are heading out to University of Iowa this coming weekend… I was invited to speak at their Heart/Lung Transplant Picnic! Some of the staff there heard me speak at a few Iowa Donor Network functions and asked if I’d be interested in hauling my fanny out there. Duhhhh… Not only are my lungs closer to home – but I get to buy more IOWA apparel… (I know Laura is soooo happy…)

Beyond being around a bunch of other heart and lung recipients, as well as some people waiting for these gifts, there will be some medical staff there, and one or two people from Iowa Donor Network who I just adore… And University of Iowa takes care of Kari’s heart too. Kari’s heart recipient, Sandy, may be there – but it’s actually a longer drive for her than it is for me!!! I’ve met her before – she’s a wonderful person – and if she can’t make it, I get to be around the people who take care of her heart. I’m very much looking forward to heading out there!

I also signed up for my 8th Hustle up the Hancock… “Regular” registration is not until 8:00am on Monday, November 2nd. I sign up early and pledge to raise $1,000 so that I can have my team created on registration day.  Here is what my Hustle webpage reads:

This will be my 8th trip up the John Hancock Center for the RHAMC with my team named Kari’s Klimbers. I’ve had amazing teams, and by the end of this climb my teams will have raised over $200,000.00 to help people breathe. I’ve had incredible climbers, and support from so many generous people.

The reason I can climb 94 floors is in the picture I’m holding. In March 2000, in Iowa, when Kari was 17-years-old, she told her family how strongly she felt about organ donation. Twice. A month later, she passed away and her family honored her wishes.

I was in Chicago. My lungs were failing and I was dying after struggling for 40 years with cystic fibrosis. This beautiful girl from Iowa came into my life in April, 2000. I breathe with Kari’s lungs. She is on my mind and in my heart always.

Among my amazing climbers, for the past five years, several of Kari’s friends and volleyball teammates have come out from Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois to climb with me – in memory of their friend, and to honor the gifts she gave, and the person she was. Can you imagine what I feel like when I’m around them?

This will be my 10th year with her beautiful lungs. I do this to honor Kari and her family – and to honor the precious friends who surrounded her and loved her, and who she loved. I do this in hopes that others will recognize how important being an organ donor truly is, and will decide to someday become someone’s hero, like Kari is mine. And I do this to honor anyone who struggles with lung disease, like I did, in hopes they can someday feel like I feel.

If you have a couple of bucks to pledge me, or someone on my teams – it’s greatly appreciated! But more than anything, I want you to know about the girl who saved my life. And like her, please think about organ donation – sign your registry, and tell your family how you feel. I know a beautiful girl from Iowa who knew how she felt and she told her family. I think about her every single day.

Love, Steve

You can read a little more about her at:

www.ClimbingForKari.org

If you’re interested in a $120 tour of 94 floors of all of the stairwells leading to the top of the fourth tallest building in Chicago on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 (with the money going towards a very good cause…), there will be instructions on how to sign up on my www.ClimbingForKari.org website. Sign-up is November 2nd at 8:00am, and it sells out in 30 minutes or less. (p.s. we’re going to the top of the tallest on November 15th…  There's still room on my team there too!

New Life Rises – 2010 Rose Parade…

At around 4:30am on New Year’s Day, 2010, Anne Gulotta will be hanging around in a hotel lobby with about 30 other people waiting for a bus… It will be the culmination of a week of meeting amazing people, attending galas and dinners, placing roses in a garden for special people, decorating a float, and so much more…

I met Annie five years ago… We were both calendar girls on the 2005 Gift of Hope calendar – I was Miss February because of the Hustle. She was Miss March… Annie lost her husband, Jay, in 2002 and Jay became a donor. It means so much to me to be around donor family members, and it means so much to me to try to help them understand the gifts they gave. After Annie and I shared our stories with one another – we decided that we would make a good speaking duo… We’ve done a lot of presentations together. I’m always so proud and honored to be speaking with her…

Beyond speaking – Annie has leapt tall buildings with me a number of times!!! And I got to celebrate with her after she met Jay’s kidney recipient, Julie. And later, I got to meet Julie and her husband too. I’ve posted here about Annie and Jay a few times, including last May.

She’s mentioned a few times that she wanted to be in the parade someday – ironically, I never really thought about it myself. I was asked to represent Gift of Hope last year. I quickly understood why she wanted to go… On Monday, Scott over at “I am. Are you?” announced that Annie will be representing Gift of Hope. I’m so tickled that she gets to ride the Donate Life Float this coming New Year’s!!!

I hope her experience is as wonderful as mine was last New Year’s Day, 2009, when I got to ride the float… I know it will be – I’ve already met so many of the people who organize this. They make magic happen. It was one of the most memorable times in my life – last December and January I had twenty Revive Hope posts describing some of the things that happened!

The theme of this year’s Donate Life Float is New Life Rises… The meaning is obvious to so many of us involved in organ donation… When people say “yes” to organ, eye and tissue donation, New Life Rises, giving hope and healing to those in need of life-saving transplants…

*From a bed of nurturing flames, the majestic phoenix rises anew, its tail feathers adorned with 40 floragraphs – portraits created with floral materials – depicting loved ones who gave life to those in need. The bird soars high above 24 float riders – all transplant recipients, living donors, and family members of deceased donors – seated along a monument inspired by the National Donor Memorial’s Wall of Names. A garden inspired by the memorial’s Wall of Tears leads the float with 2,000 dedicated roses, each carrying a personal message of love, gratitude and hope to a donor, recipient or candidate for transplant.

New life rose from Jay and Kari and Chloe and Chase and Dylan and Sam and Will and so many people we’ve talked about here… Annie is going to find out how special it can be to honor them, and all donors and recipients, in such a meaningful way.

* From the description at www.DonateLifeFloat.org

Brothers Celebrate Brother - Tri-ing for Life by Daryn Kagan

Her website says, “Welcome to DarynKagan.com! I hope you’ll visit each day to experience stories that make your heart go, “ZING!”

Last year, and again a few months ago, I wrote a few posts that I think show these guys in the way I’d like the world to see them. In August, 2008, when I met them at the Chicago Accenture Triathlon, my post was titled “Swim, Bike, Run, Chase.” When we went to cheer them on at the HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines last month, my post was titled, “Buck & Nancy’s boys… Chase’s Brothers.” If you hadn’t read them – check ‘em out… I’m kinda proud of them.

And along the same lines – here is a beautiful video about them on Daryn Kagan’s website titled “Tri-ing For Life, Brothers Celebrate Brother”… I think she did a pretty awesome job:

Buck & Nancy's boys... Chase's brothers.

I’m late again – sue me… It’s more laziness than busy-ness – but sometimes it’s nice to be able to be lazy.

I had an incredible weekend last week… I brought my lungs closer to home – we spent a long weekend in Des Moines. I was there for a couple of reasons – one reason was a surprise birthday party for a chick I adore… The other reason I’d brought up at the end of a post last year titled “Swim, Bike, Run, Chase…” At the end of that post – a brother I think is very special had sent me a note saying, “When we find a race in Iowa – your butt is going with us. Just a little FYI.” Which was why my butt was in Iowa last weekend. I got to spend much of the weekend with Lon, Trevor, Brandon & Dave. Dave is to the Coleman boys what TC would call a “brotha from anotha motha…”

Friday night Laura and I went to a pig roast & picnic for the Tri-for-Life team. Ted and the My Angel Foundation, and John and his foundation sponsored the picnic as a little fundraiser to help support the Tri-for-Life team’s cause – they will do a triathlon in all 50 states in their brother’s memory, and to promote organ donation awareness…

At the beginning of the picnic – Lon took a moment to tell all of us why they do what they do. Last year, Buck & Nancy – their Dad & Mom – told me and Laura a lot about Chase when we met them at the Chicago Triathlon, and they told us about all four of their sons. It was very moving hearing the story from Lon and getting an idea of what they feel about him, and why they do this to honor him…

Then, I got to play volleyball in the sand with them for a few hours. My lungs belong to a star middle-hitter. The rest of me belongs to an almost-50-year-old guy who is afraid of flying objects. But I still had a lot of fun – especially after John’s wife, Stephanie – who coaches volleyball – brought a little organization to our team. After the first 30-40 minutes of playing haphazardly and usually running from the ball – a game was set up between the Tri-for-Life guys and all of the other adults and Stephanie was in charge of our side. Unfortunately, I was considered an adult – but we actually gave them a run for their money – and I found out that I really think I could like volleyball!

Saturday, Ted & Bethany took us to the Des Moines Farmer’s Market where we wandered around purchasing produce (OK, fudge and peanut-brittle – whatever – it was probably produce at one time…) There were thousands of people there – it’s a HUGE market!!! Laura, Bethany and I were wandering across a street and walking towards us was a beautiful, young family – the woman had a beaming smile and said she knew me… Laura just rolled her eyes and Bethany looked a little surprised – then the woman said, “You’re Steve! Steve Ferkau!!!” Yes – yes I was… I took a guess at why she might recognize me and I gave her a hug – and I was right… She knew Kari – she was a year ahead of Kari in school… Last year she had seen me in an Iowa newspaper, and she had seen my website. Her name is Abby – we’d exchanged a few emails back then – but we had never met. She said she had never been good with names or faces – but she immediately knew who I was… Most of you know how I feel about Kari’s friends – you can probably imagine how special it felt to have one of them who I have never met pick me out in a crowd. Yes, it makes me feel like a rock star – but mostly, it reminds me that her friends will not forget Kari.

Saturday night, Laura and I got to hang with my Jenn – at a surprise party for her. Jenn had managed to find out about the surprise party, so it wasn’t a surprise – but it was a surprise that we were there… We would have come out with or without the triathlon – but it was nice that we just happened to be there. Jenn is the first of Kari’s friends who I really developed a relationship with – and in January, I get to be at her wedding. I always like being around her.

Our friends Tara & Michael were also at the picnic, and at Jenn’s party, and Tara went to the race… We met Tara & Michael at the Rose Parade – there was a beautiful floragraph on the float honoring their daughter Emily, who became a donor at the age of nine. They now tell others about organ donation, and the gifts that Emily and so many others have given…

Sunday morning at 5am, Ted picked us up to head over to the Hi-Vee Triathlon… Laura and I enjoy attending these events and cheering people on – it’s much more special when there are athletes participating who hold a place in your heart… It was an incredible event – and it was so much fun to hoot ‘n holler for Dave, Lon, Trevor, Brandon and Bethany!

Here are Dave, Trevor, Brandon and Lon at around 5:30am - bikes in the transition area and ready to walk over to the start of the swim...

 

In their rush to get ready, they forgot the "Donate Life" tattoos they usually have all over themselves - but we ran into another athlete with one on her shoulder...

  

On the left is Lon, to the right is Brandon after the swim.  I got all of these pictures from the Coleman brothers - we had commandeered their camera and we didn't get any pictures of them on their bikes!  (Certainly, it was because they were too fast...)

This is Tara, who I mentioned above - one of our cheering section at the race, and someone very special to me, along with her squeeze, Michael.

 I don't have a picture - but like Brandon's headband, "CHASE" is down one leg of all of their suits.  It doesn't have to be there - after a few moments with them, you can tell he's etched in their hearts.

Here are the guys with Ted & Bethany after the race...  Bethany ran the race too! I'm proud of her as well...

I have people who I’ve grown to love who are waiting for something – lungs, a heart, a liver or kidney… There are people who we’ve lost who I’ve also grown to love – Kari, Chase, Emily, Sam, Jay – there are so many… Somehow I know that because of Lon, Trevor, Brandon & Dave – more people are going to know about the Chases in the world, and about the goodness generated by organ donation – and some people are not going to wait as long for what they need…

Do you get the idea that these guys are some of my heroes? Good…

I know that Chase is very proud of his brothers…

A good cry and some chocolate...

OK – so it’s Thursday night and I haven’t posted yet… But, I don’t like not posting on my scheduled day so here’s a substitution…

I had started outlining and drafting my post about the inaugural Donate Life Hollywood Film Festival that I had the honor of attending last weekend – but then I had to run out twice this week to procure a particular birthday present. Next time I will not trust a webpage to tell me a place is open until 6:30pm only to find after taking what should have been a 20 minute trip in 45 minutes and not actually finding the place, only to find on a simple call would have clued me in that their summer hours are until 5:30pm – even though it’s not technically summer yet. (Based on the date or the weather…)

Anyhoo – we saw some wonderful and amazing things at the Film Festival… A lot of it was an emotional cry fest, which, I’m OK with now since I’m packin’ girlie lungs. (Nothin’ like a good cry and some chocolate…)

I want to write a little about a beautiful little “Hometown Heroes” news piece about a precious girl, Lilly Allen – and the toddler who saved her life 25 years ago, Matthew Bemis… But that’s going to take a little explaining, because I got to ride the Donate Life Float with Lilly and I met Matthew's parents… It was screened along with the Donate Life Illinois video about Kari and me, “The Circle of Life”, and I got to have a long chat with the lady who produced and directed the piece…

And we saw a few incredible shows that are coming out in the near future. One is a new television series titled “Three Rivers” that looks to be amazing. It takes place, naturally, in Pittsburgh – but the title is also a metaphor in organ donation and transplant for the intersection of the donor and donor family, the transplant team, and the recipient and their family and scenes from the first episode look truly amazing. And, there is a movie that will hopefully come out this fall – maybe around Thanksgiving and football season – titled “The 5th Quarter.” A big part of the story revolves around organ donation, and the most successful season in the Wake Forest Demon Deacon school history. I can’t wait to see the movie because I’ll never forget the 20 minutes we saw!

But – I’m not writing now because I’m tired. However – I will leave you with a link to a post from the “Donate Life Organ & Tissue Weblog” posted by Glenn Matsuki from One Legacy in California. (We have to link to this very cool blog at Revive Hope one of these days soon!) Glenn posted a little slide show and a letter from Sam Jones III – he plays “Chaz Pratt” on E.R. – Laura got to shake his hand – I got to hug him… He wrote a wonderful letter about his feelings about being a part of the Donate Life Hollywood awards dinner… Here is Glenn’s post and Sam Jones III’ letter.

I promise I’ll post more about this soon!

Hollywood bound!!!

CONTACT: Nick Urig
nurig@grisko.com

For Immediate Release

CHICAGOAN TO WALK RED CARPET AT DONATE LIFE HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL

Local double lung transplant recipient to be honored for second place video award

CHICAGO, June 8, 2009 – Chicago native Steve Ferkau, a double lung transplant recipient, will be walking the red carpet in Hollywood this week at the inaugural Donate Life Hollywood Film Festival. Ferkau recently starred in an online short film, “The Circle of Life”, which placed second in the Festival’s “online shorts” category.

The Donate Life Film Festival debuts Saturday, June 13, at the Directors Guild in Los Angeles, featuring inspiring stories of lives saved through organ donation in television and film, with informative and entertaining panels of screenwriters and surgeons.

Steve’s video celebrates not only his life but also the life of his organ donor, Kari. The video was filmed in Chicago and features Steve telling the story of his transplant experience at various locations including Millennium Park and the John Hancock Center, a particularly meaningful place since Steve and close friends of Kari participate in the “Hustle Up The Hancock” each year in remembrance of Kari. The video was produced by Donate Life Illinois, the statewide coalition of organ and tissue procurement organizations responsible for donor education and registration outreach.

“I wake up every day looking for a new way to tell others about Kari, the power of organ and tissue donation and the special gift of life that she passed along,” said Ferkau. “It’s an honor to be awarded and I hope my message motivates others to consider registering as a donor. It’s a brief decision but one that can ultimately mean a second chance at life for someone else.”

“Donate Life Hollywood created this festival to draw attention to inspiring and dramatic stories in a proactive and positive way and to fill a niche. We knew there were people out there who were producing films and TV shows about the topic, but we were amazed at the response to our call-for-submissions,” said Tenaya Wallace, Donate Life Hollywood campaign director. “It proves that there is enough drama in real life donation and transplant stories without sensationalizing the topic with organs-for-sale and black market storylines.”

Recent research by Dr. Susan Morgan at Purdue University provides evidence that inaccurate storylines about organ donation keep people from registering as donors. With over 102,000 people currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and 18 people dying every day because of a shortage of donated organs, these storylines could literally be costing lives.

In Illinois, residents can help those currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant by joining the Illinois organ/tissue donor registry. Just one person can save the lives of more than 25 people through organ and tissue donation. Illinois residents can visit www.DonateLifeIllinois.org to join the state’s donor registry.

Doctors, transplant recipients, donor families, living donors and many from the Hollywood film community will be in attendance at the Festival. “Many people in the entertainment industry have been touched by donation and have come full circle by using their personal experience as a wellspring for their work,” said Wallace.

Among the honorees will be “Seven Pounds,” released last year starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson, for “Outstanding Portrayal of Organ and Tissue Donation in a Motion Picture.” “Seven Pounds” is the first feature film to show the real-life pain for those waiting for a transplant and the profound joy of receiving the gift of life and sight.

Other film finalists include:

• "Decision to Donate” – the story of one man’s battle with chronic kidney disease and his friend’s selfless decision to help by donating one of his kidneys. Produced and directed by the donor’s son, this film chronicles this life-changing journey from the initial decision to donate, through the transplant and beyond, as the two men and their families share an intimate perspective of their very personal experience.

• “Giving Life” – focuses on the story of Hollie Stanyon Fouts, who became an organ donor as a result of a fatal auto accident just one year after her sister was killed in an auto accident, and their parents’ journey through grief and giving.
• “The Wait” – a student documentary chronicling the lives of four young people who are waiting for, or who have received, a transplant. The film shows the graphic realities of life on the waiting list.
• “Prometheus Bound: The Epidemic of Hepatitis C” – the real-life stories of people with Hepatitis C and the effects on the human body.

Eight television episodes will be honored:

• Samantha Who? - “The Job” (ABC)

• Brothers and Sisters - “Just a Sliver” (ABC)
• Grey’s Anatomy – “There is No ‘I’ in Team” (ABC)
• ER – “Life After Death” and “Old Times” (NBC)
• Three Rivers – Pilot episode (CBS)
• The Bonnie Hunt Show
• Corpse Tech (History)

About Donate Life Illinois

Donate Life Illinois is the coalition of agencies responsible for organ, tissue, eye and blood donation, as well as donor registration and education in Illinois. It is one of 45 regional coalitions and 50 national businesses or associations making up Donate Life America, a not-for-profit alliance that serves as a national voice and inspires all people to save and enhance lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. For more information: www.DonateLifeIllinois.org.

About Donate Life Hollywood

Donate Life Hollywood is part of the national Donate Life movement harnessing the efforts of the organ and tissue donation and transplant community including transplant centers, organ procurement organizations, tissue and eye banks, and transplant groups.

Donate Life Hollywood serves as a liaison between the organ and tissue donation community and the entertainment industry with the mission of seeing more accurate and inspiring organ donation storylines on television and in film. For more information: www.DonateLifeHollywood.org.

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Cool, no?!?!

I'm very proud and honored that Donate Life Illinois and Gift of Hope have helped me tell so many people about Kari, and what she means to me... If you haven't seen it already, here it is: