It wasn't the most ideal of circumstances when I found out I was pregnant with my son Rocky. I was 17 and had just graduated from high school. I wasn't married, and I worked as a hostess at a pizza restaurant. Rocky's father was still in high school. In the blink of an eye I had become an after school special! To make matters worse, at 24 weeks pregnant, I went into preterm labor and continued to have complications up until 36 weeks of being pregnant. I was young, scared, sick and very unprepared. But don't all after school specials have a happy ending? It would all work out and be ok. We just needed to get to the scene where the baby is born, everyone falls in love and we would all live happily ever after.
That is NOT how it worked out. Rocky was born with a congenital birth defect, and was taken away from me at 8 hours old. I was in one hospital and he was rushed to Johns Hopkins to undergo immediate surgery. I wouldn't even be able to see or hold my baby until he was 4 weeks old. When Rocky did finally come home, we would only have 13 months together. We never really expected that Rocky would die from him diagnosis, but there was always a chance of complications. Unfortunately, those complications happened, and at just 19 years old, I lost my 1 year old son. We had only just began my sweet son and I, but it was over so fast.
I never hesitated when we were asked if we would be interested in talking to a organ donation specialist. We never hesitated when asked if we would donate Rocky's organs. I just knew, some how, some way, he needed to have a presence in this world. It's been 29 years since Rocky left this world, but I know he is still here. Organ and tissue donation has come such a long way since we went through the process, and so much has been learned. The greatest thing I have learned and gained is just knowing that while everyone thanks me for giving this gift, I am the one that feels like I received a gift. I have been given the opportunity to dream about my son and all the things he is still able to achieve. I know that he has provided an unmeasurable amount of happiness for families just like ours.
