It’s that time of year again, planning for the 2012 Dash for Donation on July 14! It’s nice to think about something warm in the midst of winter. This is my second year as part of the planning committee and I really enjoy being a part of such an inspiring event.

I am not a runner but I do like to cheer others on. I love the energy of the event. Seeing all the teams and their shirts, looking at the donor wall, and being a part of the enthusiasm for organ and tissue donation is something I like to share with my entire family.

Our family enjoys spending time together and being a part of the Dash is something that we can all do. Last spring two of my children and I worked at Lifeline of Ohio for an afternoon folding shirts and preparing race bags. The kids really enjoyed helping get ready for the event.

From left to right: Lindy Miller, Grace Hoser and Paige Miller at the 2011 Dash for Donation

The day of the race my oldest son, Kyle, 15, ran with some of his friends. He has done a couple of races but never downtown and he loved last year’s course. My ten-year-old girls also walked the course with one of their good friends in honor of her brother, who passed away waiting to receive his second heart transplant.

My husband was our family photographer with our other kids in tow. As I helped where needed, he captured our kids’ smiles and excitement of the day. Since I’m a tissue recipient, our children have learned how important organ and tissue donation is and what an impact it can make on ones health. By having them involved and volunteering at a young age, I hope that they can help educate their peers on the importance of being a registered organ and tissue donor.

Being a part of a team organizing the Dash is something that allows me to give back to the community. I love being able to help Lifeline of Ohio. The message they spread is so important and I passionately believe in being an organ and tissue donor. This is just one more way that I can be involved and help spread the word.

Mark your calendar for the Dash for Donation on July 14, 2012.  See you on race day!

"Humbled by the Gift of Life" by Diane Tefft Young

“I was so grateful because I was so close to dying,” said Diane.

Encouraged by an editor friend, she began to write. Six months and many tears later, the result is the central Ohioan’s first book: “Humbled by the Gift of Life.” It will be released in mid-February 2012.

Diane, who received her lung transplant in October 2010, felt she had to tell her story.

“In my heart I believe I was allowed to live to write this,” said Diane. “I had so much amazing help,” she says of the many friends who reviewed, edited and provided feedback on the project.

The book spans six years, chronicling Diane’s journey from diagnosis to transplant. In the book, she discusses the fear she felt when learning she had a potentially fatal lung disease, the struggle to face her own mortality and the shock of receiving the call that a donor lung was available for her.

Diane Tefft Young

She describes her book as “honest and positive” and hopes it will be helpful for other transplant candidates and recipients. Diane also believes that when people understand the transplant candidate experience, they might be more inclined to register themselves.

“I wasn’t a registered donor before I needed a transplant,” said Diane. She adds she can relate to people who hadn’t thought about donation or might not have felt it was right for them. Diane is a registered donor now and her new book is bound to inspire others to make the same choice.

“Humbled by the Gift of Life; Reflections on Receiving a Lung Transplant” by Diane Tefft Young will be available on amazon.com, by request at your local book store or through the publisher.

In May 2007 a trip to the doctor changed my life. I had an ultrasound to check on issues from kidney stones when doctors saw fluid in my lungs. My lungs were full of water because my heart was failing.

Mark and Lifeline of Ohio's mascot, Honey Bee

It was really surprising to learn that I had five blockages in my heart and already had two heart attacks. Looking back, I recognized the symptoms. At the time, I just thought I was having complications from medications I was taking for other illnesses.

My heart was at 15 percent function and I went to have a quadruple bypass the next day. Doctors hoped that bypass surgery could mend my heart, but it couldn’t recover. They put me on a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to keep me alive until I could have a transplant.

I had to be as healthy as possible to receive my transplant, and that meant I had to quit smoking. I went six months smoke-free and was given the OK to receive a transplant. On Dec. 26, 2007 I joined the national transplant waiting list.

As I waited, I became weaker. Because I had an LVAD, I lost muscle strength. I was barely moving by the time the call came that a heart was available for me. It was Jan. 6, 2008 – a day I consider my second birthday.

Mark and fellow heart recipient, Anthony Hines, volunteer at the 2011 Dash for Donation

After the transplant surgery, I felt a difference right away. I was ready to go home after five days and was walking on a treadmill in a little more than a week.

It’s been four years and there’s no stopping me now! I am able to enjoy my life.  I chop my own wood to heat my home in Zanesville, I spend time with my daughters and I make the most of every day I’ve been given.

Right after my transplant, I felt the need to give back for the gift I received. I started volunteering and I really like working at health fairs with Lifeline of Ohio and talking to people, sharing my story and encouraging them to register as organ and tissue donors.

I’ve also joined a couple support groups for heart patients. I try to talk them through their experiences, share mine and help them stay positive.

I know I wouldn’t be here without my donor. I write to my donor’s family every year around the time of my transplant. I haven’t heard back yet, but I just want them to know how grateful I am.

Bill Jones, son of Lifeline of Ohio founder and CEO Emeritus, Linda Jones

Assistant Athletic Director Bill Jones was only 48 years old. He was eulogized by all as a kind and caring individual devoted to his family, friends, dogs and, of course, The Ohio State University.

Bill was a registered donor and shared the gift of tissue at the time of his death.

What is uniquely significant about Bill’s donation is that his mother, Linda, is the founder and CEO Emeritus of Lifeline of Ohio. A nurse at The Ohio State University Hospital in the early days of the transplant program, Linda’s distinguished career and even her retirement have been devoted to saving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation.

Working beside Linda I personally witnessed her unwavering commitment to honoring donors and their families. Through the years Linda has held the hand of hundreds of grieving donor mothers. She just never imagined that, one day, she would be a donor mother as well. I have no doubt that even in her pain, she will accept the title with pride and be comforted by the gifts of life her son shared.

Bill Jones touched countless people as an ambassador for The Ohio State University. He will do the same now as a hero of donation.

- Marilyn Pongonis, director of communications

My name is Mater and I love to sing. I am a Christian soloist with a music ministry and love to tell people about the love of Jesus Christ. I have been in the prisons throughout Ohio, and have had a ministry in eight nursing homes within the inner city. I sing for church services, retreats and fund raisers. My music is a very important part of my life, but because of serious illnesses I have had to put my music on hold at various times and three years before my transplant, I thought I would never sing again.

One day in my late twenties, I found myself itching from head to toe. After blood tests, I was diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis of the liver, which is when the liver is functioning at a slow rate and cannot remove all the toxins of the body, and the body begins to break down. I was told that it is a rare liver disease, that I was eventually going to die and all they could do was to follow the progress of the disease and treat my symptoms such as the itching and joint pain.

I could not believe this devastating news and would not accept it. I did well for the next eight years, but in November 1987, I thought I had caught a bad case of the flu. I was a divorced parent and had just picked up my sons (who were in elementary and middle school) from school on a Friday evening. When I got home, I thought I would lie down on the bed for a few minutes and then fix dinner, but when I awoke, two hours had passed. By Monday I was still sick. I was dehydrated and began hemorrhaging and had a great deal of pain in my stomach. I could not eat or drink. I was placed in the hospital and tests were run. They found my white blood cell count to be so high and said there had to be an infection in my body. They performed exploratory surgery, going in where I was having the pain, and they found that my colon had ruptured and gangrene had set in. I was about to die from all the poison going through my system. Parts of my colon had died, so they removed sections of my colon. I was glad to be alive. I thanked God!

Unfortunately, one month later I ruptured again, and this time my surgeon was afraid to operate because I was so weak and he was not sure I could handle the operation. Fortunately, at that time the hospital’s best hematologist was in the maternity ward in labor. My doctor went to her during her labor and told her my dilemma. As soon as she had her baby, she began running tests and found that my blood had clotted from my head to my toes, including the arteries of my colon. They took me into surgery and removed additional sections of my large and small intestines. Praise the Lord, I made through that surgery! I had just enough colon to function normally. I was placed on coumadin, a blood thinner. The hematologist said I was lucky to be alive because a clot in my brain, heart or lungs would have killed me. Praise God for watching over me!

I did well for nine more years, but I began losing weight and became weaker and weaker and was in and out of the hospital. I was placed on the list for a liver transplant and was on that list for three years. I could no longer sing or do the normal activities that were such a vital part of my life.

I received a liver transplant on August 12, 2000 and my life was completely changed when that very special family gave me the gift of life. We now consider each other to be family members and not strangers. During their grief they saved my life for which I will always be grateful.

I am now able to work with mentally disabled patients and I volunteer to help local elderly citizens. I have been fortunate enough to watch my two grandchildren grow and return to singing in a Christian music ministry. I have also taken up photography as a hobby. Memories are very important to me, so I photograph the important events of my life.

I have so much to look forward to in the future. God is good!!