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Read Brayden's Story [13])
The Cassanis established the Colby Foundation in 1995 as a way to honor Colby’s memory and to inspire and educate others about organ and tissue donation.
Donor Stories
a little boy, Beckham, will be three this coming August because he received Jake's heart. [14] The moment Jake's heart was placed in Beckham's chest, it began to beat, and on our lowest days, that's what gets us through -- knowing that Jake's heart gave this beautiful gift to a boy and his family.”
According to Holly, Jake's loss has taught so many people how important it is to treasure every moment. A local teacher was so inspired by Holly and Andy’s story that she shares it with her students to help people realize the difference organ donation can make!
Holly and Andy continue to be involved in promoting and telling their “story of hope” to others. Recently, Holly performed and shared her family’s story at the National Transplant Games to held in Wisconsin on July 30 through August 4, 2010. And Jake's image and story were part of the 2011 Rose Parade Donate Life [15] Float floragraphs!
continues to do all that she can [16] to raise awareness! [17]
A Macie update in our newsletter! [18]
visit his blog [19]
(Jake's story is featured here) [20] made the selfless decision to donate their precious son’s heart. The preparation and surgery lasted about 6 hours, and the surgery and the early post-transplant period went flawlessly. “Our once “blue” baby came back to us for the first time “pink,” and perfect,” said his mom, Kim. “Beckham’s recovery was miraculous. He was their first transplant baby that was able to nurse post-transplant, and to come home completely tubeless. He was released from the hospital when he was not even 6 weeks old, just 3 weeks post-transplant.
”Beckham is now three years old and has had some setbacks both large and small. Some of them include a stroke in 2008, caused from a blood clot and bleed in his brain (cause of the clot and bleed is unknown), and three different and serious blood disorders (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA), Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia), resulting in the diagnosis of Evan’s Syndrome (a very rare, serious, and reoccurring blood disorder). Through all of Beckham’s illnesses and hospitalizations, he has remained happy and determined, letting nothing bring him down. He is full of energy, thriving, and getting into trouble just like a normal 3 year old would. We agree that much of this is because of his determined, delightful, and active personality, but we know down deep inside, it is mainly because of Jake’s angel heart that beats and lives inside him, reminding us all of the precious gift that we’ve been given."
Click this link if you missed Jake's story of hope [20]