Celebrating Two Lives

I am blessed in my job to meet very special people. Yesterday was no exception. In fact yesterday I met two heroes who really touched my heart.

Perhaps you'd expect me to say the heroes were the two Marines I was with - young parents who faced the ultimate tragedy.

Yes. These Donor Parents are heroes in my book, as is their young daughter Jessica.

But I was touched most by the two moms brought together under circumstances neither could have imagined. One a mom who'd fought valiantly to save her premature daughter's life and was taking her home to die. The other a mom one who didn't know the fight her young daughter would face. Who also did everything she could to save her daughter's life, but sadly learned it wasn't meant to be.I am blessed in my job to meet very special people. Yesterday was no exception. In fact yesterday I met two heroes who really touched my heart.

Five Heart Recipients Running Half Marathon

Effort Underscores Healthy Life Possible after Transplantation

The largest number of heart recipients ever is running together Sunday, Jan. 22, in the Tri-City Medical Center Carlsbad Half Marathon in honor of their donors.

They hope their effort will inspire people to sign up to be life-saving donors on the state organ and tissue donor registry at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org. The runners stories are included below.

The Half Marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 22. The runners will meet at 6:30 a.m. at the Donate Life San Diego tent at Westfield Plaza Camino Real Mall. Volunteers including fellow organ recipients, donor family members and Sharp transplant coordinators will staff the course and greet runners at Mile 3/23 (corner of Carlsbad Village Dr. and Carlsbad Blvd.) Please join us at either location to cheer them on!

Donate Life San Diego, the community outreach arm of Lifesharing is one of the official Charities in Motion for the Marathon. (Lifesharing is the non-profit, federally designated organ and tissue recovery organization serving this region.)

Why is there so much support for this team? Because of the need right here in our own communities.
-  Tragically 18 people die each day in the United States waiting for an organ transplant
-  A person is added to the waiting list every 11 minutes; locally nearly 1,700 wait and hope; nationally more than 112,000 people are listed; nearly 2000 are children under 18
- Last year, 43 San Diegans died here because the need for transplants exceeds donation
- One organ donor can save the lives of up to 8 people and enhance the lives of 50 through tissue donation. 
- Nearly 9 million Californians have registered as donors. Join them by checking 'Yes' at the DMV or by signing up online today at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org

To learn more about Donate Life or ways you can help raise awareness about organ and tissue donation, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (Being able to run a half marathon is not a pre-requisite for being a volunteer!)

The 30-member Donate Life San Diego runners lead by Ironman Heart Recipient & Cancer Survivor  Kyle Garlett from Los Angelese www.ironmankyle.com. The team also includes Sharp Memorial Hospital Cardiologist Brian Jaski, San Diego Urologist Rami Indudhara and Lifesharing Recovery Nurses Jeff Trageser & Kimberly Granville.

Four Sharp Memorial Hospital Heart Recipients on the team are listed below in order of their transplant # and date.