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Spending most of her childhood at her family’s hunting plantation in lowcountry South Carolina, Caroline loved and appreciated the simple things that God created around her. She often spoke fondly of country fields and the smell of freshly cut hay. However, after graduating from the University of South Carolina, Caroline moved to the town of Mount Pleasant, SC, where she loved shopping, dining and being on the water. Caroline became the Director of Marketing/Office Manager at Deerfield Plantation in St. George and was always known to greet guests with a big smile and make them feel like family.

The early morning of October 21, 2012, Caroline’s parents faced a tragedy that was unimaginable. Caroline had been hit by a car and was in critical condition at a local hospital. On the following day, the doctors explained to Caroline’s family that her brain was seriously injured. Their worst fear became a reality three days later as Caroline was diagnosed brain dead.

When the doctors had prepared Caroline’s family to expect the worse, they immediately inquired about donating her organs. She was only 32 years old, in great health, and they knew Caroline would want to help. The Walters family took comfort in knowing that their sweet Caroline was going to make a difference in the lives of others. Caroline ultimately saved the lives of four people through organ donation and gave sight to another.

Sadly, Caroline’s mother was unable to be at the hospital initially because she was battling breast cancer and had undergone major surgery just days before Caroline’s accident. Caroline’s mission in the weeks prior to her accident was to help her mother and others facing breast cancer by raising money for new research being implemented at Penn State. Her family asked that donations be given to fund breast cancer research in lieu of flowers at her memorial service.

Shortly after Caroline passed, her family and friends organized a benefit raising money for Lowcountry Lab Rescue. Caroline’s lab, Cooper, was her best friend and accompanied her wherever she went. Caroline always stated, “Whoever said that diamonds were a girl’s best friend obviously never had a lab.”

Caroline’s love and compassion for life will forever be remembered by all who knew her. To celebrate her life, one of her favorite songs was played at her memorial service. In the midst of flowing tears, people were able to smile as they listened to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”. They all knew that as Caroline entered the gates of heaven, she was laughing and singing, “Sweet Caroline…good times never seemed so good.”

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Lisa Brockington first experienced organ donation at 9 years old after her sister, Queen, suddenly passed away and became an eye donor. Twenty years later, Lisa became an organ recipient.

Lisa knew Queen died of liver disease but avoided testing for similar conditions until she began feeling sick as a teenager. She was constantly tired. Her skin darkened and itched. Everyday activities became difficult. At age 18, Lisa’s doctor diagnosed her with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, and Lisa learned that she would eventually need a liver transplant.

A decade later, a trip to the emergency room revealed her worsened condition, so she went on the transplant list. She received her transplant on September 12, 2009.

Now, Lisa is full of energy. She graduated from nursing school and married her husband in 2012. In 2015, she had a daughter. Lisa plans to contact her donor’s family soon. “I want to share with them that I’m not taking it for granted,” she says. “Every day, I push myself to have the spirit of excellency for the gift I have received.”

Lisa’s transplant allowed her family to heal from Queen’s tragic death so many years before. “It was a full circle moment,” she says.

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Miren was an avid runner for many years, competing in the South Carolina Grand Prix Circuit. Eventually, he developed arthritis in both hips and ultimately suffered pelvis damage in 2005. At that time, he underwent a series of bone grafts to repair the impairment. Since his surgery, he has continued an active lifestyle, playing tennis and running as often as he can.

Miren has been a professor in the College of Business at Anderson University since 2006. He and his wife, Diana, make their home in Clemson.

Miren says, “The cause of organ, eye and tissue donation saves lives. It for sure allowed my orthopedist to repair my very damaged pelvis.”

“Donation is amazing. It is a true act of giving.”

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Around her 8th birthday, Naomi began to experience painful dislocations of her kneecaps, also known as patellofemoral instability, while playing the sports she loves so much. The frequency and severity of the episodes increased as the ligaments supporting her patella became weaker with each dislocation.

A nasty fall right before her 15th birthday left her wheelchair-bound and her parents were advised that a more aggressive approach was needed. Their surgeon explained that Naomi’s ligaments were too weak to reconstruct and suggested using donated tissue to fix the problem.

Naomi had the surgery to repair both of her knees a few months apart, receiving tissue from two donors to strengthen and stabilize her knees. As her parents watched her recover, they marveled at the thought that two families had made the most selfless gift of donation, which gave their daughter a new lease on life.

“After a few weeks of physical therapy, Naomi progressed to a walker and the wheelchair was history,” said Carol Kurlowich, Naomi’s mother. “It still makes my heart sing to watch her run exuberantly around a ball field and up and down a basketball court.”

Today, Naomi is an active teenager who can walk, run and play softball, all from the generous gift of tissue donation from two donors and their families.

Naomi received the special honor of representing the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) on the Donate Life Float at the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA. Her presence on the float highlighted the incredible gift of tissue donation and the importance of the work done at MTF.

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The death of her son was the ultimate test of faith for Rozell. His funeral service included the scripture from John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

Nevertheless, Rozell recalls, “I felt like God did me wrong. I thought God was so unfair to me. Why didn’t he take me?”

On top of that, Rozell wrestled with the knowledge that Ira wanted to be an organ donor. He had made his wishes clear at the Department of Motor Vehicles, all the tests confirmed that he was dead and yet Rozell wasn’t ready to let go of him – or any part of him for others. “My heart was saying ‘yes,’ but my head was saying ‘no.'”

Rozell had to make her decision about donation very quickly. She thought about how Ira was always such a good person and how, “He was helpful to a fault. He would do anything he could to help anybody he could.” She recalled memories of so many times that Ira had helped others or expected her to do the same. She laughs as she recounts one particular memory. A woman walked up to Rozell after church one Sunday and said, “My car broke down and your son said that you would give me a ride home.” Rozell remembers telling Ira later that it might not have been convenient for him to take the lady home and Ira replying, “Mom, if your car broke down, wouldn’t you want someone to help you?”

Ultimately, she realized that donation would be Ira’s way of continuing to give help to others who needed it even after he was gone. In the end, Rozell made sure that Ira was a donor. His heart, both kidneys, pancreas and liver were donated. Although Rozell has never met Ira’s recipients, she sent them some personal letters and received some from them as well.

In the years since Ira’s death, Rozell has come to believe that, “Donation is a matter of love. Even though Ira’s gone, it helps me to know that, through his death and generosity, other people have been able to live.”

Rozell reflects, “I’m grateful for the time I had with Ira and the time he had with me. He knew that I would need people to love and support me after he was gone and through his death and donation, I have gained another family – those special people who make up the world of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. I’m sure Ira is happy that I am in such great and caring company.”

Rozell’s new “family” includes staff and volunteers with Sharing Hope SC and Donate Life South Carolina. She has been a volunteer with those organizations for a long time and sharing stories about Ira is an important part of her work. Rozell educates and inspires others about donation during health fairs and other public events. She particularly likes to talk to fellow African Americans and help clarify some of the confusion they may have surrounding donation. She speaks at churches and reminds others that, “As Christians, we know we won’t need our bodies any more after we die.”

Rozell says, “Now, I am so grateful to God for keeping me here when I didn’t even want to be kept. Everybody knows donation helps the recipients, but as a donor mom, donation has also been a savior for me. It is part of the healing and peace. Now, I can talk about Ira and that makes me smile. Life is worth living.”

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People across America know about Patrick Miller, a 2 1/2-year-old who donated his organs 25 years ago. His mom, Sandy, honors him by sharing his story with donor support and church groups and athletes at the Transplant Games.

Sandy tells people about Patrick’s curly hair and love of dogs. She talks about his happy personality and ability to talk to everyone. She mentions her 29th birthday, when he entertained her sister and a waitress by eating macaroni with two spoons.

She explains that later that day, Patrick never woke up from his nap after he suffered a brain aneurism. While later praying in his hospital room, Sandy felt God tell her she should donate Patrick’s organs, though she had never thought about it before.

Since then, Sandy has made lifelong friends through Sharing Hope SC Donor Family Services support groups and the Transplant Games. Seeing organ recipients at the Transplant Games helps Sandy grieve and heal. “It does my heart good to see that they’re taking care of the precious gifts that they’ve been given. They seem more grateful and happier than the rest of us. Patrick’s recipients are out there and happy. They got a second chance because of his gift.”

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As an active 13-year-old, Taylor wasn’t as tall as his peers. When his 8-year-old sister, Abbey, began catching up to his height, he underwent medical testing that revealed high creatinine levels. In October 2012, his doctor diagnosed him with Nephronophthisis, a rare kidney disorder. He soon underwent surgery to have his kidneys removed and, on December 26th, he received a kidney from his aunt, Christy Wagner.

After surgery, Taylor and his parents, Laurie and Travis, noticed several positive changes. He felt better and looked much happier when playing sports, and he no longer needed to wear glasses because of increased blood flow to his organs.

In 2016, he competed in the Donate Life Transplant games in Cleveland, Ohio. The games celebrate organ donors and transplant recipients. He competed in eight events and medaled in six. “It was neat meeting other people,” Taylor says. “I met this one guy…who had his kidney for 20 plus years. It’s cool knowing how long people make it.”

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Kathryn Ann was born on January 17th, 2012. A beautiful, spunky little one, she knew how to make an entrance into the world. “She was so feisty; she even kicked the doctor when she was delivered,” explains Colleen. When going in for Kathryn Ann’s eight-week checkup, the doctors were noticeably concerned. Her pediatrician heard something that wasn’t quite right, prompting a series of events that included medications, tests, monitoring, and a few months later, admittance to the Medical University of South Carolina’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Colleen tried to remain calm and make sense of the world that was so quickly changing around her. Although Kathryn Ann appeared healthy from the outside, her heart was failing her. She was diagnosed with dilated cardio myopathy (an enlarged left ventricle), hypertrophic myopathy (thickened walls of her heart), and a non-compacted heart. After undergoing more tests and an echocardiogram, she was to wear a heart monitor. This monitor tracked the rhythm of her heart, notifying her medical team of any irregularities. Her results from the monitor confirmed the next step…Kathryn Ann needed to be added to the transplant waiting list for a heart. While completing the testing required for the transplant list, Kathryn Ann coded. She was placed on a ventilator and moved to the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Time continued to pass, and it was evident that Kathryn Ann and Colleen would be making Charleston a more long-term home. Stephen, Kathryn Ann’s father, and Vann, her older brother, would visit often. “Vann never missed a procedure of KA’s,” says Colleen. Mother’s Day was quickly approaching, and Colleen had one wish, to hold her sweet baby girl. Because of the procedures, wires and machines involved in such a complicated medical diagnosis, it is very rare that a parent or loved one can hold their child. Beaming as she recalled this memory, Colleen said, “I got my wish that day.”

Kathryn Ann’s health was continuing to decline despite the high-level care in the PCICU. She coded a second time. In order to alleviate some of the stress on her heart, she received a Berlin Heart, a machine that acts as a pump and supplies blood to the body. A Berlin Heart is typically placed for about six months as a bridge to receiving a heart transplant. Kathryn Ann was quite small for this procedure, in fact the smallest baby to have received a Berlin Heart. Her team was only able to attach the machine to one side of her heart, leaving her odds very low. Her family and medical team believed in her fighting spirit, and although the swelling took time to go down, Kathryn Ann began to thrive with her Berlin Heart. She was eating well, and her personality was starting to shine through again! She made friends with everyone in the PCICU and loved to put on a show for all that would listen! While she was doing well, she was also approaching five months on the Berlin Heart. It was impossible for Colleen to not start thinking, “What next?”

Being in the hospital for so long, Kathryn Ann received many gifts, especially clothes. She had her favorites, but the most memorable of them all was her popsicle dress. When she wore this dress, something great would happen, whether it be to her or someone else in the PCICU. Colleen explains, “We believed in the magic of this dress!” On September 19th, 2012, Kathryn Ann was wearing her popsicle dress, and around four o’clock that day, Dr. Savage came in and said, “We got it.” It was her turn…she was getting a heart. Colleen couldn’t believe it! They had been there for so long and had seen families come and go, witnessed other children receive the gift of donation. She immediately picked up the phone and called Stephen, using their code for Kathryn Ann getting a heart transplant, “We got the beat!” Dr. Bradley at MUSC performed her transplant on September 20th, 2012. Her surgery was a success and she was released seven days after her operation.

Kathryn Ann is now eight years old and celebrates life every single day. She loves to perform for anyone that will watch and will try anything – swimming, dancing, gymnastics, basketball, you name it! She loves any reason to celebrate, but especially loves her “Heart Birthday” because it is unique to her. Each year on her Heart Birthday, she brings treats to her class and tells her story. She embraces every scar from her surgery because they represent the most beautiful gift she was given. Colleen says, “Life is hard, and at times, for KA, life can be a little bit harder. Because of this, we always try to give her a place to share her story and find her way.”

The Mullis family has not only experienced the gift of donation but is also a Donor Family. Not long after Kathryn Ann’s transplant, Colleen’s brother passed away. It is because of the knowledge and experience their family had with Kathryn Ann, they knew without a doubt that Brian wanted to be a Donor Hero. Today they celebrate Brian’s legacy through Kathryn Ann’s gift and find comfort in knowing that he was able to be someone else’s miracle.

Colleen knows that having the conversation of donation is tough. It is uncomfortable for most, but she urges those around her to have that uncomfortable conversation because in the moment it is too hard. She explains, “Break down those myths and misconceptions. There is never a dumb question when it comes to educating yourself. Make the decision. Most importantly, share that decision.” On National Donor Day we honor the legacies of our Donor Heroes and the gift of life they gave because they said “YES” to organ, eye, and tissue donation. You can register to be a Hero today at www.donatelifesc.org

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