Lane was wicked smart, so funny, and confident. He was generous and compassionate and mischievous. He was passionate about things he believed in. He loved animals and nature, all of it. He loved dogs, cats, horses, snakes, lizards, birds, bugs, all living things. He LOVED golf, loved the course, the trees, the grasses, the rocks and water. He played from the age of 4 and made it his career. He loved to learn and loved information. He read and studied anything he was interested in and made a point to become very educated about things. He was the man of our house from age 10 and he was wise beyond his years. Lane was 26, just weeks shy of 27. He was very healthy, he was obsessive about eating healthy and he ran 6 miles a day.
On the worst day of our lives, we found ourselves in the trauma unit at UT Medical Center facing a non-recoverable situation. I could literally feel in my soul that Lane was no longer here in this world and though my heart could not even process that reality, my brain took over and acted on auto pilot. The trauma team did not have his wallet or any of his information, so we informed them that Lane was a registered organ donor. All three of us were and are. It was something that we had discussed as a family, something that is important to the three of us. In that moment the entire vibe of the trauma unit moved from hopelessness to hope and within minutes, organ recipients were being identified and we could feel the impact of Lane’s gift.
I like to quote my daughter Annie when talking about our experience of losing Lane and of walking the path with him as an organ donor, she puts it so eloquently and truthfully when she says, “Our darkest moment of life was someone else’s biggest miracle.” Someone, some family had their prayers answered and they get to love on their person for one more day, one more month, year, years. Someone gets to live the life they were supposed to live. That, all of that, was a tiny bit of light in the darkest of dark for us, and it was a light for us to grab onto. It pulled us through and kept us going. It saved us. And it continues to heal us as we move on with life without our Lane here with us. I believe he knows the impact of the gift of life he left here in this life. I believe his joy in heaven is multiplied because of his gifts.
And so we feel compelled to share our story, Lane’s story, his gift of life. Lane impacted 8 lives with the gift of his organs and many more with his tissue donation. I sometimes just let the impact of that weigh on me. He left a legacy of generosity and love, and it is such an honor for us to share it with any and everyone who will hear it.
