July 14, 2004
Gift of life takes root
Transplant recipients and donor families attend memorial rose bush planting
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Hope and life sometimes spring from tragedy and loss.
For an organ or tissue recipient, their lives are inextricable linked to an ultimate sacrifice made by an individual or family member: the gift of life.
"It's been a lifesaving gift for me, I was very sick with lung disease," said Bev Cherwinski of Vanderbuilt, who received a lung transplant five years ago. "I had 17 percent lung function when I went in for my transplant. A week after I was home and didn't need oxygen."
In addition to promoting organ donation, Cherwinski also gives strong accolades to the families of transplant recipients. These people are on the front lines of caring for and supporting a seriously ill person both before the transplant and after. They wait and worry, hope and pray for a desperately needed organ before their loved one succumbs to disease.
"Not too many people recognize the care giver, which for me is my husband and daughter," Cherwinski said. "It has a turmoil effect on the whole family."
Friday afternoon, area organ donor families as well as recipients and their families were honored at Munson Medical Center during the Fifth Annual Memorial Rose Bush Planting Ceremony.
These families and area dignitaries, including Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, spoke about organ donation and how it has affected their lives. They also planted a rosebush honoring donors and recipients in a garden in front of the hospital.
"The rosebush is a symbol and reminder, the annual bloom reflects renewed hope," said Land, who has spearheaded a campaign to enroll 1 million organ donors. "We're at the 700,000 mark, and there were only 500,000 signed up less than a year ago."
Other officials included Traverse City Mayor Linda Smyka, State Representative Howard Walker and State Senators Michelle McManus and Jason Allen, as well as officials and staff from Munson Medical Center and Munson HealthCare. Cherwinski, who is active in the Transplant Support Group of Northern Michigan, helped organize the event.
The other side of life-saving transplant operations is someone else's unexpected death, another family's pain and loss.
In the midst of wrenching pain, after their daughter was mortally injured in a car accident 14 years ago, Max and Gloria Schindler decided to donate her organs. It is a decision they have never regretted, one they believe their very giving daughter would have made herself.
"Sarah saved three lives," said Gloria Schindler, who along with her husband serves as a donor family liaison for Gift of Life Michigan. "She loved people and she loved life. We are so thankful that we donated her organs and saved lives."
Ken Ransom of Traverse City said his sister, Cindy, saved four lives with her organs. A vibrant young woman, Cindy had just achieved her dream of owning a ranch last summer. In early September of 2003, an unexplained incident threw her from one of her horses.
Her family, however, knew her wishes: Ken and Cindy had witnessed for each other as they signed the back of their driver's licenses authorizing organ donation. Her brother now takes comfort in Cindy's life-saving contributions to four other families.
"I know my sister's heart went to a mother," said Ransom, who was touched to meet organ recipients at the ceremony. "At least in her case, she was rather young when she died, but she does live on. It sounds like a clich‚, but it's true."
For more information on the Transplant Support Group of Northern Michigan, call Bev Cherwinski at 989-983-4188. For more information on the Gift of Life program, visit their website online at www.giftoflifemichigan.org