Heart Donation, Double Lung Donation, Liver Donation, and Right Kidney Donation

Organ Donor Carey Lecamp, Hero’s Wish Paid Forward Saves Many Lives
By: GREENWICHFREEPRESS | June 24, 2016

On June 10, a memorial service and celebration of Carey Lecamp’s life was attended by hundreds of people including many staff and students from Greenwich High School, Eastern Middle School and Riverside Elementary School.

Carey, who had just turned 18 in April, died on May 26 while away at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania.

According to many posts on Facebook and those who spoke at his memorial service, Carey was a compassionate young man with a great sense of service to his country. Many of his friends spoke of his kindness, sense of humor and desire to help others.

“Carey was loved by so many and his decision to end his life after a long struggle with depression has devastated our family and his friends,” explained Carey’s mother Terri Lecamp, adding that her son’s wish was to become a soldier in special operations to serve his country and save lives.

“Through his death he has become the hero he always wanted to be,” Terri said.

Sitting at her dining room table in Greenwich, Terri took a break from organizing her son’s memorial to speak about organ donation and what her son might think if he
knew the outcome. “Carey would be looking down with pride for what has happened,” she said.

Letter from Gift of Life
June 3, 2016

On behalf of Gift of Life Donor Program, I would like to extend my sincere condolences regarding the loss of your son, Carey. The sudden death of a loved one is one of the most painful events a family can experience. I know that very little can be said to ease this sad and overwhelming loss for you and your family. Your strength and courage in thinking of others during this difficult time are a tribute to you and to Carey’s memory. I would like to share with you some information about the outcome of your son’s gifts.

The precious gift of Carey’s heart was given to a man in his sixties. Patients who require a heart transplant have a serious cardiac disease which greatly impacts their daily life. They have extreme shortness of breath, fatigue and they need assistance completing the most basic activities of daily life such as showering and getting dressed. Some individuals who are waiting for a transplant are hospitalized and most are so ill that they are not able to work or enjoy a full life. Medications or other interventions are no longer able to manage their symptoms and transplant is their only option for survival.

Carey’s liver was given to a man in his sixties. Individuals who require a liver transplant have a serious liver disease or are in liver failure. The liver impacts many systems in our bodies such as digestion, metabolism, blood-clotting and red blood cell production. Often, patients who are waiting for liver transplants are extremely fatigued, jaundices and suffer from confusion making employment impossible and everyday activities difficult to perform.

The recipient of Carey’s right kidney is a woman in her twenties. The recipient of Carey’s left kidney is a young boy. Most people who need a kidney transplant are in end stage renal disease and are on dialysis. While dialysis offers these patients treatment for their kidney disease it is not curative and can be physically draining and difficult to tolerate. Dialysis typically occurs three days a week for three to four hours at a time. With a kidney transplant, dialysis is no longer necessary.

Both of Carey’s lungs were donated to a man in his sixties. Many patients who are in need of a lung transplant require continuous oxygen and cannot walk a few feet without becoming short of breath. Simple tasks can become difficult to complete and breathing takes much more energy. Transplant is their only option to extend their life and to provide them with a better quality of life.

The gift of Carey’s left arm was given to a man in his fifties. Patients who suffer the loss of a limb often express a deep sense of helplessness and loss of control as they are forced to rely on others for even the simplest of functions such as feeding themselves and daily hygiene. They are rarely able to continue working in the field they were in before the traumatic event that caused the loss of that limb. They yearn for an overall improvement in the quality of their life, with appearance, function and a sense of independence that can be restored through the gift of transplant.

Carey’s donated bone may allow physicians to treat between 50 and 100 patients many of who face the functional loss of a limb due to cancer, trauma or other diseases. Donated bone can also help individuals restore spinal function, allowing them to walk without pain or numbness. In addition, many young athletes suffer from pain and limited mobility on a daily basis due to sports related injuries such as a torn tendon or rotator cuff. Donated tendons may allow them to return to normal, active and fulfilling lives with shortened recovery periods. In most cases, recovery time is quicker and there is a lower risk for infection when donated bone is used.

Carey’s saphenous veins may be used for individuals requiring heart bypass surgery who are unable to use their own veins. Donated saphenous veins may also be used to restore circulation to a recipient’s arm or leg that has been impaired from diseases such as diabetes. Without the donated vein, these individuals could continue to face increasingly severe problems, including the possible amputation of the affected limb.

Carey’s gift of skin is used for patients who have non-healing diabetic ulcers or for women who have had to go through the devastating loss of a breast due to cancer. Using donated skin during reconstructive surgery will allow women to begin the difficult process of healing without the addition of a secondary surgical site (when using their own skin). Donated skin could also be used for the covering and healing of exceptionally large wounds or surgical sites that could otherwise take several painful months to heal.

Heart Donation

Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 9:10 AM
Subject: Carey’s gift

I wanted you to know that Carey’s heart was perfect (see video) and the recipient is in surgery now to receive Carey’s gift. Carey’s decision to end his life has given hope to many families as he has become a major organ donor. Over 100 physician and medical staff were involved last night in making all these gifts possible and we are grateful to them and to the valley forge EMT who revived Carey to make this possible. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. It’s going to be a long road to healing but we are buoyed by your love and kindness to us during this difficult time.

Ronnie
Double Lung Recipient

February 20, 2017

Dear Donor Family,

I am sure this letter may be difficult to read, it is difficult to write. It is both painful and joyous. The reason I am writing is to thank you even though words can only express a small part of the gift you and your son has given us.

The importance and immense meaning of the gift you and your son have given me, truly cannot be expressed in words.

I can try I must try, because I think you should know that this life that was saved is a life of promise. My promise to you is that I will never waste one moment of my life.

I thank God every day for the gift of Life that your son Carey gave to me and my family. How do I share with you that your son gave me life back. That he gave me a better life, my wife and my children thank you my whole family thanks you.

Sincerely,

Ronnie

Patrick
Liver Recipient

Gavin
Left Kidney Recipient

Ashley
Right Kidney Recipient

November 18, 2016

Dear Donor Family,

I want to start by saying how sorry I am for your loss. I also want to apologize for not reaching out to you sooner. I want to tell you how thankful I am to receive such a beautiful gift from your son.

I’m going to tell you a little about myself, my name is Ashley. I’m 26 have two young children ages 9 and 5. I was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure when I was 21 and pregnant with my youngest daughter. I had to have her earlier than expected because of my condition which stopped her from growing and a few other things. With my oldest being four and a premature baby I had so much on my plate then to find out the I had kidney failure. A week after her stay in the NICU I brought her home. A few days later I ended up back in the hospital which is when I started dialysis and being so young with a toddler and a new born was hard. I continued dialysis for five years. I went through a struggle through the whole thing. I got on the transplant list in end of February beginning of March. I felt like it was so long of a wait and specially dealing with the daily struggles with going to dialysis three times a week and having to focus on being a mother of two was hard but I managed to do what I had to do for them. That is something about me so you a have general idea who received your son’s kidney. It so happened to also be four days after my oldest daughter turned nine.

I finally got a call on the 26th of May saying I was the third one on the list that I’d hear something back in at least 6 to 8 hours. I waited and waited all day and didn’t hear anything. The next day I got a call after I took my kids to school and that I had to be at the hospital by 9 am. When I got there I got prepped and taken back to the OR at 12 in the afternoon. I was so scared and in shock and didn’t know what to think. I got out of surgery around 8:30 pm that night still drowsy and all I can remember is my mom giving me a kiss telling that everything went ok and that she’d see me soon. The next morning my nurse came in asking if I was ready to go on a walk and I looked at her saying are you crazy. I just had a major surgery but I went through it. I got better day by day. After spending four days total in the hospital I was finally home but still sore. I was sore for a good bit of time. But I’m doing well.

I want to end this by saying thank you again for such a special gift from a hard decision you had to make. I couldn’t thank you enough or stress that enough I’m going to treat it the best I can, and I also look at it as I got a second chance at life to be healthy for my children. THANK YOU. If it’s ok, I’d like to stay in contact with you that is something that is totally up you. I’m sorry if this was kind of all over the place as I’m not that good of a writer. Hope to hear back.

Sincerely,
Ashley

My son died in 1994 but his heart only stopped beating…

Ryan Bologna: The Impact of Organ Donation on My Family
By: RYAN BOLOGNA | July 1, 2016 | Greenwich Free Press

Patricia and Robert Brooks.

Last week we heard a story about what happened after my former Greenwich High School classmate Carey Lecamp passed away.

Carey was an organ donor, saving the lives of six people. This is a great story that shows how good of a person Carey was and how he saved lives.

This is a chance for me to share what kind of impact organ donation has made on my family.
My grandmother was in need of a kidney transplant. She was lucky enough to receive one and wrote a letter expressing her to the donor family. Not only did it lengthen her life, but also she wouldn’t have seen as much of her grandchildren’s lives as she would have without the transplant.

On July 1, 2001 her husband of 37 years – my grandfather – had a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away.

My family brought up the possibility of him being an organ donor, and what could be used was taken. My grandmother wrote in the letter to her donor family, “It was terribly difficult for me, because I was always the one who was sick in recent years and relied on him a lot.”

My grandfather had taken my grandmother for treatments and helped my grandmother enjoy life in spite of her illness.

On August 16, 2001 my grandmother got the call that offered her a new kidney.

In her letter to the donor family she wrote, “I couldn’t believe it! Off we went to the hospital and the surgery was done that evening. My recovery has been fairly smooth, with some ups and downs which is to be expected. I have truly been given the gift of life. No longer do I have to be stuck with needles and attached to a machine to survive. I can eat better. I am able to go to work. I can enjoy my family and friends more.”

In her letter to the donor family she referred to the donation as the gift of life.

Although my grandmother has passed away since then, that gift still made an impact on my life. I have countless memories of going to her house and spending time with her and my cousins.

I will forever be grateful for the generous decision that made my grandmother’s life longer.

If you know you want to be an organ donor, it is very important to make it known to your family. You can also sign up online to have a record of your wish.

You can save up to eight lives if you sign up to be an organ donor. What Carey has done for six people’s lives, what was used from my grandfather, and the impact that a donation has made on my grandmother’s life shows the great benefits it could have to many families in the future.

Organ donation is a way of making other people’s lives better when you are gone. If you want to be an organ donor make it known with your family and take the steps to become one.

More information on becoming a donor and registering in your state is available at OrganDonor.Gov (http://www.organdonor.gov/)

A useful organization for families is the Transplant Support Organization (http://www.transplantsupport.org/)

See also: Organ Donor Carey Lecamp, Hero’s Wish Paid Forward Saves Many Lives (https://greenwichfreepress.com/health/organ-donor-carey-lecamp-heros-wish-paid-forward-saves-many-lives-67101/)