Abrielle Neff Foundation: Donate Life Month

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Donate Life Month

April is National Donate Life Month! Midwest Transplant Network and Donate Life America are asking everyone to show their support of donation by participating in "Flags Across America." This campaign is requesting you fly a donate life flag during April as part of a nationwide display of unity to show the American public how many people have been touched by donation. This display is meant to honor donors and recipients and calls attention to the need for more people to designate themselves as donors. Flags can be found at the Donate Life America website, www.donatelife.net We are ordering a big flag to fly on our flagpole at home. So, here's what I want to do to help get more flags out there... I am going to give a flag of your choice to one lucky reader. Leave me a comment with your name an what flag (car flag, garden flag, house flag, stick flag, commercial flagpole flag) you would like on this post and I will enter everyone's name into random.org to select a winner. I will post a winner on Friday, so we can have the flags to fly for most of the month. Thanks for showing your support for donation!

6 comments:

AnonymousApril 1, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Garden Flag would be great~~hugs, Darla Rauch
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AnonymousApril 1, 2009 at 2:30 PM
When we first moved to this state, my husband & I both signed our new drivers license for organ donation, but never received any confirmation, so today I went to your posted site and did the official registery! Now, we are both signed up to donate everything!! I even got a confirmed e-m, so that makes us feel more at peace, knowing that our desires are official! Don't forget, GIVE BLOOD!!! It is the easiest way to donate life!! We also have a flag pole, so I would love to show our support to everyone.
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Jenni HalleyApril 2, 2009 at 12:32 AM
Garden Flag
Brian was full of melanoma. He was saddened by the fact that his body was "worthless". The Midwest Transplant Network provided us with information on cornea donation, which brought much peace to Brian, knowing that his body that was ravaged with cancer, could indeed help someone (no way for melanoma to spread to corneas because no blood vessels). Although my precious Brian has gone on to Heaven, his eyes still look out over Kentucky somewhere! You did a very selfless thing in giving of Abby to others during a very tragic time. May knowing she has given life to others bring you peace.
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AnonymousApril 2, 2009 at 9:06 AM
I THINK I WOULD LIKE ONE BUT NO ONE WOULD SEE IT AT MY HOUSE. BETH
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A GraywolfeApril 2, 2009 at 10:49 AM
I am a donor I have a donation for full body donor. I would liek the Flag - with "Donate Life" with gromets that I would let a business use it and change businesses each month spreading the word around our town.
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AnonymousApril 2, 2009 at 4:50 PM
I love the idea of giving it to a business so that even more people could see it~~Darla
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Our Story...

Abrielle came into this world in a hurry to get started, which gave us our first glimpse at her personality. Not waiting on Dr Jane to put on gloves, only a towel to catch her with, she weighed in at six pounds fifteen ounces. From the beginning Abby had reflux, but there seemed to more than just that as she failed to gain weight. At four months we were sent to draw all kinds of labs, hoping for a solution, but all was normal. By six months of age, the vomiting became worse, almost nightly. We were keeping records of every calorie she ate, every dirty diaper, and every time she vomited. By this time Abby was refusing to eat supper most nights and would throw up her undigested lunch after bathtime at 8:00. Her food was just sitting in her tummy all day. Dr Watson sent us to Omaha Childrens Hospital to Dr Zapata a pediatric gastroenterologist to help diagnois the problem. There, over the next year and a half of her life, Abby underwent testing, treatments, and outpatient procedures. During every procedure she was given a stuffed animal to hold for comfort, even though she had Blankie with her.
To make a long story short, after the accident we discovered St Francis Hospital did not have a program like this for kids and Abby's Hugs was born.

That Tragic Day...

Thursday, March 29, 2007, began like any other school day in our household with the only exception being that it was Abby's sharing day at preschool. We had a rule that if the sharing item was not picked out the night before (which it usually wasn't), Abby had to be ready for school before she could find something to take. This morning was just like most ... nothing was picked out the night before. She hurried faster than usual that way she would have time to find something. After brushing her teeth, she ran to her room to find some clothes. I always tried to give Abby choices, but she was down to her last clean pair of capris. I gave her the option of wearing those, a pair of Gymboree Fruit Punch capris with a bright yellow shirt or jeans and a purple kitty shirt. She decided on the capri outfit which she had actually rejected every other day that week. After getting dressed, she went into Sissy's room and was playing with her LeapPad when I found her. I asked her how she wanted her hair fixed and she said "little pony". (Not that she was going to leave it in anyway) I helped her onto the sink and she dug through her basket of hair things until she found a yellow one. We went into the living room so I could sit down to brush her hair. Since sitting on my lap was now impossible, Abby stood in front of me as I pulled her hair up with the little yellow hair tie. She ran to her room and began looking for something to bring for sharing. She came out with her Little People's Noah's Ark set stuffed full of extra toys. Being a mean Mommy, I said, You can only bring one toy. Aww, was the response as she took the ark back to her room to look for something else. I went on about my routine of making my lunch and everything else to be ready to leave for work. Mady and I headed out to the Expedition and Abby was not following behind. I went back inside to find her and Marc on their way from her room with her big "bobbycat" (bobcat skidloader) for sharing. They had been looking for the scoop that attaches to the front but ran out of time. They decided that just the bobbycat would work. Marc helped buckle Abby in her car seat. Because she was so small we still used the 5-point harness and not just the seatbelt so she required some help. As we left the house, Marc pulled out ahead of the girls and I onto the gravel road. Just around the first set of curves past our house, I slowed down so we could watch the turkeys fly across the road. I am not sure if Abby saw them or not, but she said she did. We continued on, oblivious to our fate that lie ahead.

last added to 10/29 ...this I will add to as I am able ...thanks for understanding.

The Sentence

On June 25, 2008, Ryan C Sundermann was sentenced to 6 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Sundermann wrecklessly caused the death of Abrielle Neff in a motor vehicle collision on March 29, 2007. Sundermann was charged with failing to maintain proper control of his vehicle, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway and operated a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol.
Sundermann was previously convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and Failure to Drive on the Right Half of the Roadway on April 25, 2006 and sentenced to 2 years probation, 12 days in jail, and a $300 fine. On December 19, 2006, Sundermann was again convicted of Excessive Blood Alcohol Content-Prior Offender which he received a Suspended Execution of Sentence of 180 days, was continued on 2 years probation and received a fine.