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letter for organ donation

Mother’s day story for grieving moms

I checked in with my friend Kate who lives near me and recently lost a son, Taylor, to suicide. This year’s mother’s day will be her first since her son’s death. Many of us get a Mother’s Day card or letter. But the Mother’s Day cards and letters she got were exceptional.

“Yesterday, I checked the mail and had a letter from Gift of Hope. (Organ donation) Inside was another sealed envelope with a letter from the man that received Taylor’s lungs, as well as a handwritten note from all four of his adopted children and one from his wife. Such a wonderful Mother’s Day surprise. I have cried and cried.”

The beautiful letters Kate received are below. While letters like this don’t erase her pain, they do serve as a salve to the wound. Giving back does help promote healing and Kate gave the ultimate gift, her son’s organs.

Letter from the recipient, a man who had lung cancer
Letter from the wife of the recipient of an organ transplant

We don’t all have the option for donating our loved one’s organs (I didn’t), but for those who have been able to, it is a precious gift. The heart of our loved one can beat in other chests, their lungs draw in air for other bodies, their eyes provide clarity of sight for another. To those of us who’ve lost someone we love, this is very exciting and where hope exists.

At the time when an organ donation decision is made, no one can really see how many ways, how profound, and how often such a precious gesture will impact our lives. We are too numb to think that far ahead. I think most in this position just know it will feel very special to have some part of their loved one alive in another human.

UNOS Organ Donation Website. Gift of Hope Website.

I recall being completely unprepared for my first mother’s day in 2016 after my son, Charles’s, suicide. I had planned for the birthday and first death anniversary but forgot about Mother’s Day. I spent the day as a catatonic mess, shocked that the day happened without my permission. So I gathered up all the posts of the past and listed them below. Enjoy it. Stay in bed. Binge watch rom coms. You feel and do whatever you want.

And thank you Kate for sharing this heartfelt story.

Published by

Anne Moss Rogers

I am an emotionally naked mental health speaker, and author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk. I raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost my younger son, Charles to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. I help people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse and find life after loss. My motivational mental health keynotes, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, coping strategies/resilience, and grief. As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now the legacy I try and carry forward in my son's memory. Mental Health Speakers Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.

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