Volunteers have always been a huge part of Gift Of Life, because they are the ones who help spread our message and support those in our community. Janet Keller has been a key player in creating our newest volunteer initiative, Wrapped In Hugs, which started earlier this year. To date, Gift Of Life has collected over 550 handmade wraps!  She shared with us her tale of how her personal tragedy opened the door for her to provide comfort to hundreds of families experiencing similar situations.

  A Young Man’s Heart Of Gold Lives On Through Others

   My family has been connected with Gift of Life since August of 1994. On August 18, 1994, our youngest son Joe drowned in a low-head dam near our home at the age of 14. He was pronounced dead three days later. Joe was attempting to save the life of a classmate who was caught in the hydraulics of the dam when he too was pulled under by the current. The classmate survived, but Joe was taken to the hospital for a very long several days of praying that he would make it through. When we were approached about organ donation, I was not interested at all. I felt that Joe had already given his life for a friend, and that was enough. However, after talking at length with the transplant coordinators, my attitude changed. “It sounds as if Joe had a heart of gold. Wouldn’t it be a shame to lose that and not be able to share it with someone else,” said one of the transplant coordinators. I realized that Joe would have wanted to do this since he was a giving young man, who was always trying to help others. I believe he would want this last chance to do something for someone else. Once when Joe was interviewing for the Senior Patrol Leader position in his Boy Scout Troop, he told his Scout Master that he just wanted to make a difference. Little did we realize at that time Joe’s story would be shared with thousands of people, making a difference to strangers every day.

Inspired By The Generosity Of Strangers

Receiving a wrap at the 2010 Transplant Games meant so much to me. We had our teenage two grandsons with us, JD, (Joe’s namesake, who was born shortly after Joe died) and Austin. I was touched at how much it meant to them as teenagers. The boys mentioned that they wished they could have been able to receive a wrap. On the way home from the transplant games, I made each of them one. I told them that I was stitching in all of the memories of our trip and all that they learned about organ donation. When they wrapped the wraps around each family at the games, it was as if they were wrapping us with love and support.  It felt as if they were personally going home with us to support us through our grief. Being a bit further out in my grief journey at the time, I am sure it meant something different to me than to a newly bereaved family. It touched my heart that we were important enough for someone to take on a project like this that is shared with so many people. There was so much love in that room, it is hard to put into words. I love the idea that they were made by loving hands that passed on the love that they had in their hearts and hands when they made the wraps.

A Mission To Help Families Feel Less Alone

I heard through the grapevine at The Compassionate Friends National Conference that they would be doing this at the games. They told us that they present wraps at the time of death, and give each donor a wrap so that the family has something that has touched the donor in their final hours. If families were able to take home one of the wraps on the day their loved one passed, they would have something physical to take home with them. I know the Gift Of Life region is too large to do this in the beginning, so we have to start small and present them to families at the Donor Recognition Ceremonies. My goal is that the interest will grow from there and we will be able to fulfill my dream of being able to give one to every donor family at the time of death. It is going to take many dedicated volunteers to make this happen, but I know that it is achievable. In my heart, I know that this is a project I am meant to do in memory of Joe.  I have so many beautiful memories of knitting and crocheting with Joe, which is what I want to share with the other families. I want families to remember those beautiful memories with their loved ones, and know that someone else has felt the pain that they are feeling so they do not feel alone.

Helping The Cause

There are many ways that people can help with the project even if they do not knit or crochet, Some volunteers are able to knit, but cannot afford to buy the supplies.  One way a person can help out the cause is by donating gift cards for Wal-Mart, or other discount stores that sell yarn, so materials can be purchased with maximum use of the money. Another way to help the cause is by donating yarn. I use my coupons from weekly sales flyers for 50% off to make my money go a bit further. Volunteers should purchase at least 4-6 skeins of one color or kind, so that we have enough to make a wrap with it. It takes about 1 1/2 pounds of yarn to make one wrap. You want to buy yarn that is machine washable, so no wool, alpaca, etc. that would have to be dry-cleaned. Volunteers can also donate yarn that is hanging around the house. When my mother and mother-in-law passed away, we had two houses that were full of yarn. I am using a lot of that to make wraps, which I know they would appreciate.

Showing  Support One Stitch At A Time

All I can do is hope that the wraps have as much of an impact on others as they had on the group attending the Transplant Games. Even with it being 17 years since Joe’s death, I still have what I call my “Joe” moments. I pull that shawl off the sofa and wrap myself in it, knowing that someone else out there knows how I am feeling. I hope that families will feel all of the love and support that went into weaving each stitch and know that they are not alone on this journey. We are there to love and support them when they need it the most, if only through a wrap. I want each person to know that their loved one made the difference in more lives than just their small circle of family and friends.