Honoring Colleen’s Heart Donors
Jan 17, 2021
January for all of us is a new year. January for Colleen brought the miracle of new hearts. These two dates in January, 1-20-1996 and 1-17-2013, are days we pause to remember with immense gratitude the extra years we had with Colleen thanks to her donors, V and Dee. All of Colleen’s loved ones will be forever grateful for the enormous selflessness of others who made the gift of organ donation so that Colleen might live.
Here are Facebook posts where Colleen honors her two heart donors in her own words. We also are treated to Colleen’s fantastic humor and exceeding kindness:
Colleen’s January 20, 2015, Facebook post:
ALL THE SMILES FOR THE BIG 1-9!!!!
Dear Second Heart, you are no longer in my body because you decided to poop out on me after 17 long years with me. I totally forgive you even though I treated you well and went vegan but that's neither here nor there. You're the heart I've had the longest in my life (that first one was a schmuck with three years, amiright?) and you did me an amazing job. You kept me going and here I am at 22 when I would have been lost at 3 without you. It's been a good one and you were a great heart and did a kick-butt job and I miss all our good times of only biannual cardiac appointments and always perfect tests (this third one is being a little you know what if you ask me). You must have come from an amazing little girl. I felt it every day.
To V's Mom,
Thank you so much to the woman who gave me this amazing heart. Thank you for reaching out to me this year and telling me about your daughter. I promise I lived out every last bit of her heart for you. You enabled me to live through your loss and I can't thank you enough for that. You didn't know me then, but I can now tell you that your gift was the most amazing gift I have ever received. You gave me a second chance, a great chance, and a lasting chance. You gave me life. Your daughter must have been an amazing fighter because for 17 years I could feel her heart always fighting with me. Thanks for giving me the best heart I'll probably ever have. I know this is a day of sorrow and remembering for you and I want you to know V is in my prayers today and every day along with you and your family. Thank you for your work you continue to do for organ donation. The lives you have saved have to innumerable at this point. You're absolutely amazing. Thank you for everything.
Colleen’s January 14, 2018, Facebook post:
In a few days, you will see me celebrating 5 years post-transplant for transplant #2 (January 17th) and 22 years post-transplant for transplant #1 (January 20th). These are both amazing accomplishments that should reflect back on the strength and love of my family, friends, and medical teams, but there are two people and their families I haven’t given enough attention to previously and I would like to talk about one now because for some people, this is a really terrible time of year.
I became Facebook friends with Leka this year and have gotten the chance to learn more about my most recent donor, Dee. He would have been an amazing father if his life wasn’t cut so short five years ago. Today, his family grieves and I grieve alongside them. It’s a twisted set of emotions. This is the man that saved my life but through his death. It’s hard to reconcile the sadness I join them in today with the joy I will feel in a few days. One act can be the worst day of a family’s life while it can be the best only a few hours or days later for another family.
When I waited for my heart, I told everyone they weren’t allowed to pray for a heart. That was too barbaric and selfish. I know what it means for there to be a heart available. In order for me to gain life, I had to wait for someone else to lose theirs. So I prayed and had other pray for my donor. I prayed that he was happy and that he got to spend quality time with loved ones. I hoped he wasn’t too stressed and he was constantly surrounded by the people he cared most about. I prayed he said his “I love you”s to his mom when he hung up the phone and that he hugged his brothers a little tighter. I prayed that my donor’s last days would be absolutely amazing days for him and I still wonder if they were. I hope so. I hope all of us live like that because we really never know what’s going to happen.
So today, before we remember the fun times of Playdoh in the hospital and all the things I have been able to do in these past five years, I would like for everyone to think about the amazing guy that let me do it all. Whatever your beliefs, please send up a prayer, say an incantation, or just hope for general goodwill for Dee’s family. And in his name, please sign up to be an organ donor. In his last moments, Dee became a hero. He is certainly mine.
This month the Gleason family has contributed to Lurie Children’s Hospital in the memorial fund set up under Colleen’s name. This fund shall contribute to the work of Lurie Children’s Hospital and create a space named for Colleen where she received her life-giving transplants.
