Lisa LeGer, Donante registrado

I never thought about donation until my father became ill...

I never really thought much about organ donation until my father became very ill and his only chance to live was a liver transplant.

You hear about Donate Life and you see stories, but other than signing up to be a donor, you never really think it is something that would happen in your family. My family and I watched my father become very ill and change into a very frail person fighting to live. He had so much hope, so much faith and just wanted to live. I became his advocate and caregiver. I never stopped believing that he would receive his gift of life and receive his second chance.

The day came where he was number one on the transplant list – he was the sickest person in the region that needed a liver transplant. The transplant doctors come in and they had found the perfect liver for him.

We learned shortly afterwards that it was a 20-year-old whose choice to donate his organs had given my father this gift. My father says it’s a double edged sword… you are so happy to be able to live, yet you have so much grief for the family of the donor.

In December of 2012, my father received his life-saving gift. This was the most stressful, yet beautiful moment of my life. Almost a year to the day of my father’s transplant, we met my father’s donor family and they are so amazing, so generous and loving.

We continue to donate our time and hope to help others learn about organ donation. This is real. It can happen to anyone. Why not give of yourself to help another person live if you are no longer able to? The Donor Network of Arizona is full of amazing people and amazing stories, but this story is one of a war veteran, a husband, a father and a grandfather who fought to live and is now living each day fully, thanks to Donate Life Arizona.