Heart transplant recipients, donor families raise awareness on National Donor Day
By Paul Burton
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NEWBURYPORT, Massachusetts (WBZ) — This Valentine’s Day in Newburyport, hearts came in many different sizes and under extremely dire circumstances. “A heart transplant and living kidney transplant has kept me alive for 15 years and eight months which I never thought possible,” CJ Fitzwater said.
On Tuesday, in recognition of National Donor Day, several heart transplant recipients and donor families came together with one clear message about the importance of organ donation. “Be heroes just sign up, that’s all you have to do, simple thing on your driver’s license,” Gary Swain said.
Swain is speaking from the heart he received just 18 months ago. Recently he met up with his donor’s parents at a park in New Hampshire. “Michelle, my donor’s mom, took the stethoscope and listened to her son’s heart beating in my chest on Mother’s Day in 2021,” he said.
Carol Dullea holds her 11-month-old grandson Ethan close to her heart. He passed away in a horrific accident in 1999. His liver and kidney donations saved the life of another baby and a 55-year-old man.
She says it’s been more than 20 years since her grandson passed away and she firmly believes that in their darkest hour was someone’s greatest gift.
“I realized finally that the same weekend we were praying so hard for him to live, those families were praying just as hard for their loved ones to live, and he was the answer to their prayer and God gave him to us to take care of that short time and how blessed were we,” she said.
The sheer generosity and love of a stranger impacting the hearts and lives of many. “To the world you may be one person. But to one person you may be the world,” Fitzwater said.
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