Annette Hernandez arrived at Parkland Memorial Hospital with a heavy heart, fearing the worst after her only son had been injured in a horrific car accident. Hernandez found her son, Matthew “Cody” Corker, 22, in the intensive care unit, hooked up to tubes and wires. He didn’t respond to her voice or touch. In the anguish of the next 20 hours, Cody would be pronounced brain-dead, and his family would have to grapple with a…
Today marks a remarkable milestone—Brenda E. Cortez’s 20th Donorversary of giving the gift of life. Though she is not my physical kidney donor, organ donation brought us together, and my life has been forever changed because of it. Brenda is a true champion of organ donation awareness. She is the creator of H.O.W.L. the Owl which is an acronym for, “Help Others With Love.” Through her Howl the Owl®️ book series, she has educated and…
Rylen Quinn Cowan, earned his angel wings on June 5th, 2017, after a short battle with Bacterial Meningitis. Despite being vaccinated, we learned his body had an immune deficiency, and at the young age of 13.5 months old, Rylen became a Hero to 5 individuals by donating his heart, liver, kidney(s), and intestine! Rylen was always “SMILING,” so we would introduce him as “Smilin’ Rylen!” And his signs that we remember him by are anything…
Kenny Cross is my hero. Kenny suddenly passed away and his family had to painfully make that decision to donate his organs. Kenny saved four lives that day and I was honored to receive his heart. Kenny was a loving and caring person. I had the chance to meet his family and we have become one. His little daughter is so special. I made sandcastles on the beach with her and even danced with her…
Brad William Crouse was born with his twin sister on November 9th, 1983. His entire life he had a presence that people could not help but notice. Intelligence, an uncanny charm, a wonderful sense of humor and a gift of making friends with everyone and anyone burned him into the memories of everyone he met. Karate, football, computers, and videogames were his hobbies and passions. Although he spent much of his time working to save…
My sister Mary was only 18 years old in 1982 when she passed. She was beautiful inside and out. She had beautiful dark brown hair and dark brown eyes to match. Her talents were many, especially singing. She had the voice of an angel. I could listen her to sing for hours. “The Rose” was her favorite song. She was the most giving person one could meet. If you needed it and she had it,…
Logan was the most loving, giving and kindhearted individual I know. He would drop everything to do anything to help anyone in need. This may sound like a biased mom speaking but I asked some of his friends and this is what they had to say about Logan. “He would give the shirt off his back to anyone” “At work he would take time to help the people that didn’t understand something” “He held the…
Denise Darvall, a young bank worker, was 25 years old when she went to lunch and shopping with her mother, Myrtle, and friends. While crossing the street, she and her mom got hit by a car driven by an intoxicated man. Denise’s mom died instantly, while Denise suffered serious head injuries and required a ventilator to keep her breathing. She was rushed to Groote Shurr Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Louis Washkansky, a 54…
My brother Dominic is my hero. I, Nick Di Brizzi Jr, was born with Cystic Fibrosis. After receiving a double lung transplant in 2015 I went into kidney failure while working on the show Fargo in Chicago in 2019. I began peritoneal dialysis and both my brothers stepped up right away to test as living donors. My older brother Dominic was a perfect match and donated his kidney to me on July 1st, 2021. 7…
James Hughes Dominguez (Jimmy) was and is a beautiful young man with a beautiful, giving heart. From a very young age he put others first, giving others the benefit of the doubt and being there for his friends and family when life was sad. He took on the burdens of others without thinking of the cost to himself. He was a Life Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and loved nature, fishing, hunting, hiking,…