Changing Lives Through Organ Donation
“twitter facebook link” /></a>
<a href=youtube link” /></a>
				<a href=enews signup

Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network > What a Coincidence, When Tanya Decides to Volunteer for FLDRN!

What a Coincidence, When Tanya Decides to Volunteer for FLDRN!

Here’s a strange twist to the events surrounding Herb Bond’s transplant this past February.

 

Tanya Herrold (left), volunteers at an event for FLDRN, with Amy James, our community education manager.

Tanya Herrold (right), volunteers at an event for FLDRN, with Amy James, our community education manager.

Even before her dad needed a transplant, Tanya Herrold was an organ donor advocate, and had signed up to be a donor.

Now, with her dad on the liver transplant waiting list, she was more determined than ever to encourage other people to become organ donors.

So, Tanya submitted her volunteer form to Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network (FLDRN).

But as Tanya’s dad had been in the hospital at Strong Memorial for over three weeks, and in critical condition, Amy James, FLDRN’s community education manager, agreed to meet with her at the hospital on February 15, 2013. It would be an opportunity to get to know each other.

It turned out to be a whole lot more than merely a routine first meeting.

Incredibly, just 15 minutes after getting together in the hospital lobby, Tanya and Amy received word that a liver might be available for Herb. Two previous potential livers had turned out to be unsuitable for transplantation.

An Opportunity to View the Transplant Side

Tanya invited Amy to join the family so that she could follow the transplant process with them. Tanya is pleased that although Amy hesitated at first, concerned that the family might want to maintain their privacy, she decided to accept the invitation.

“Amy was very respectful,” Tanya says. “But I felt it was important for her to see the transplant side while also acknowledging that the generosity of a young woman and her family was making the transplant possible. She does public education, and she would have a personal story to share.”

“This experience was so rewarding both professionally and personally.” — FLDRN’s Amy James

For her part, Amy says, “This experience was so rewarding both professionally and personally. The Bond family somehow knew how important is was for me to experience what families go through as they wait for a life-saving transplant for their loved one, and I am forever grateful for their insight.”

A Busy, Busy Volunteer!

Since then, Tanya has proven to be an enthusiastic, very busy volunteer. For instance, she helps to set up and work information tables at events.

She also chairs the Casino Nights committee, securing financial contributions for Team Finger Lakes who will attend the 2014 Donate Life Transplant Games.

Recently, Tanya says, she was given the opportunity to share her experience with the mother of a donor. “We were both crying. It was a big moment in my life, to hear about the experience from the other side.”

RELATED LINK: Return to Herb Bond’s story

 
  • © Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network, Corporate Woods of Brighton, Building 30, Suite 220, Rochester, NY 14623 (800) 810-5494