Years before Kevin was born, my step-dad Doug received a kidney from a living donor. Because of that, the term “organ donation” was a normal word in our house. Kevin had made the decision early on that he wanted to be an organ donor, but for the time being, he donated blood to the Red Cross. His Grandy lived longer than doctors expected with his gifted kidney and we all saw first hand what an amazing gift organ donation was.
In 2017, Kevin was working in an apartment refinishing the bathtub. When he hadn’t been heard from, his brother and others went to the apartment where Kevin had been working. He was found unresponsive and slumped over the bathtub. Kevin was immediately pulled out of the room and his brother performed CPR while 911 was called. Paramedics quickly arrived, took over the CPR and continued the life saving efforts until they arrived at Southern Hills Hospital.
Friday, April 28, After several tests were performed with all having the same results, Kevin had no brain functions. At 4:52 pm, Kevin was pronounced deceased by doctors.
We then met with Laura from Tennessee Donor Services, and I signed all the paperwork giving permission for Kevin to fulfill his destiny of becoming a Hero and saving lives by donating any organ, bone or tissue possible.
As we sat around in shock, we attempted to write our letter to the transplant team. We asked friends and family for input. As his mom, I could tell everyone how awesome I thought that he was, but the letter was a compilation of everyone saying how awesome he was. Kevin was fun, outgoing, a pleasure to be around. He was a jokester and makes everyone laugh. He always has a beautiful smile on his face, he lights up the room, and puts a smile on everyone’s face. He’s the nicest, most respectful and most humble person. Kevin’s the bomb!
In 2017, Kevin helped save the lives of 4 people with his amazing gifts, as well as enhancing the lives of so many through bone & tissue donation.
