A final gift

During the first months of 1999 I decided to try out for the Miss Lehi Pageant. In doing so I found out that I needed to have a platform. Coincidentally during the time I had to choose a platform I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist who directed me to the Utah Lion's Eye Bank. I volunteered with the director of the Eye Bank who got me in touch with Intermountain Donor Services and other donation awareness organizations. Little did I know how life-changing that decision would be. I volunteered and worked for donation awareness sometimes full-time, part-time, and as needed from 1999 until we moved to Logan in 2007. Organ, Eye, and Tissue donation is and will always be a big part of my life.

I previously mentioned that upon her death my grandma was able to donate her eyes to research. This was something that Taylor's grandfather was also able to do. In fact we smiled thinking that their eyes were probably somewhere together at the Moran Eye Center waiting to be studied in their search to find a cure for macular degeneration. I was so glad that they were able to donate something. They were 95 and 88 years old, so I didn't expect to even be given the option.

I know a lot of you have grandparents who may consider themselves too old to donate. This experience made me realize, again, how important it is to talk to our families about donation, no matter the age. Macular degeneration is something that most of us will have to face in our older years. The people doing this study feel that they will be able to find a cure in the next 3-4 years. The eye donations of our grandparents that are happening now will directly affect how that cure will benefit us, our parents, and our children in coming years.

Because our grandparents were eye donors, they will be added to the list of names on the Celebration of Life Monument at Library Square in Salt Lake. It will be so wonderful to attend the next wall unveiling ceremony and see their names, to be able to show the names to our children for years to come, and remind them of the legacy and final gift that their great-grandparents left.

When you read this, please make time to talk to your parents and grandparents about being a donor---no matter their age. Lives can be saved and enhanced through transplants and through research. Also, check your state's online donor registry (click here for Utah's) and make sure that you're registered as a donor.