Abrielle Neff Foundation: National Donor Recognition Ceremony

Friday, July 24, 2009

National Donor Recognition Ceremony

The National Donor Recognition Ceremony was held on Sunday, July 19th. Over the next few posts, I will be sharing details of this wonderful ceremony to honor all those who have gave the gift of life.

The ceremony was hosted by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Kidney Foundation, and TRIO (Transplant Recipients International Organization).

During the ceremony, transplant recipients spoke. A young 16 year old and her Mom talked about what her heart transplant meant to their family and how life is now normal for her, except for a few more doctor visits and a few more medications than her friends. A double lung recipient then performed a Spanish dance for the audience. The man never became short of breath and danced flawlessly. Another woman spoke about how the gift of sight literally opened up her world again.

I would like to finish this post by listing the names of all the donors that we honored during the ceremony.

Deceased Donors ~
Otto William Abel, Skyler Albright, Kyle Andersen, Jenna Mae Arnett, Justine Avendt, Cole Richard Baldwin, Tony Ball, Ron Barham, Stacey Lydell Bates, Edward William Berryhill, Jennifer Kress Blalock, Christopher R Boehm, Caitlin Marie Boles, Jared Daniel Bowers, Malcolm M Brinson, Susan Marie Brunhuber, Lawrence James "LJ" Buchanan, Hunter Michael Burns, Katie Lynn Buskirk, Patrick Michael Butler, Cory Carlson, Austin Rhett Carter, David Franklin Cato, Sean Patrick Clegg, Regina Rose Collins, Michael Scott Crozier, Tony D'Acquisto, Bhakti Datta, Jazmyne Davis, Marc William Dawson, Barrett J Dederick, Katie DeRosa, Maria Susanne Diaz, Warren Niel Dougherty, William Gregory Driscoll Jr, David Edgecomb, Ryan Evans, Dylan R Flew, Ana Maria Flores, Jesse David Frank, Justin Franks, Christine Fulghum, Stella Naomi Furjanic, Jasmine Garcia, James (Jimmy) Ginter, Michelle Marie Greever, Michael David Hall, Krysta Hankee, Shelby Amanda Harper, Carolyn Harrell, Julie Ann Harris, Dustin J Hart, Paul Travis Hickey, James C Hill Jr, Zachary Taylor Hutchens, Joseph A "Badger" Hutson, Darryl Iriny, Christopher Jacobs, Amanda Jensen, Matthew Alexander Johnson, Bradley Jordan, Louis Herman King III, Steven T Largent, Abigail Lear, Sadie May Logan, Victor Lozada, Hedaia Madi, Hunter Vincent Magro, Julianna Grace Martin, Addie Mathis, William Patrick McAndrew Jr, Paul Andrew McDaniel, James McDowell, Gary Lenzie McInnis, Leo Mehringer, Marilyn Mehringer, Chelsea Ann Metzger, Denton Wayne Miller, Todd Davis Miller, Gary Lee Montgomery, Ron Mosely, Karen L Musto, Abrielle Lauryn Neff, Warren L Ohlinger, Alvaro Ortega, John Robert Parker Sr, Timothy Daniel Parker, Shirita Latoy Peay, Tribhawan G (Anand) Persaud, Daniel Martin Polhemus, Jeffrey John Plmkala, Amber Dawn Poynter, Jared Rainey, William G Reinbold, Chelsea Beth Richardson, Debra Robinson, Brandon C Rutledge, Cassandra G Sandvick, Darlene F Schmitt, Stephen J Schoenfeld, Jeffery John Shetler, Evin J Shoap, Holland Dru Shoemake, Travis G Shollenberger, James Smith, Douglas B Smyly Jr, Kali Nichole Sparks, Christoper Spencer, Adam Christoper Stull, John Talbot, Eugene "Chuck" Taylor, Amaya Elise Thomas, Jordan Scott Underwood, Deborah Bargas, Robert Stephan Warburton, Davis Warner, Michael Weadock, Carol Weed, Gene Wilson, Charles William Wintzell, Brian Wynne, Allen J Zenker, Jason Erik Zepel

Living Donors~
Sherri Bauman, George Blank, Alan Brandon Sr, Laleise D Curtiss, Monica Davy, Vivian Ferebee, Terri Goodwin, Scott Greene, Ruth Ann Hess, Jenny Hoover, Todd Miller, Violet Mousseaux Crow Good Voice, Robert Oshinsky, Christina Plummer, Howard Pritchard, Andrea Riegler, Alice Marie Siete-Nevel, Janet Suker, Lora Ward Wilson

2 comments:

Lori CarlsonAugust 22, 2010 at 2:54 PM
Thank you for including my daughter, Hedaia Madi, on the list. Your site is lovely. As one donor mom to another, thank you and God Bless you.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousApril 14, 2013 at 7:06 AM
Thank you for remembering our loved ones in such a special way, that they will never be forgotten. As a donor mother, your pain is beyond words, but knowing that your precious one was able to give their last gift to another is comforting and helps the healing process. They are always with us, through our laughter and our tears, and holding us up when we need them the most. Thank you again.
Robin Buskirk, donor mom of Katie Lynn Buskirk
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

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.