Saturday, November 26, 2011

Ruby Jane

I have been thinking a lot lately about this beautiful family. I have never met the Taylors, but I love them. Their precious daughter Ruby Jane died in August while waiting for a liver transplant. She was 7 months old. I learned about their family while Ruby was in the hospital waiting for the perfect match. I was so moved by their story and their faith. I prayed that the right donor would be found, and I wept for Ruby's mother when I heard that she passed away.

Little did I know that I would lose my sweet boy only a few weeks later. As I held Jonah's beautiful body in the hospital a nurse gently asked if we wanted Jonah to be an organ/tissue donor. She told us he could still donate his heart valves, even though he had been deprived of oxygen. I immediately thought of Ruby. I thought of her beautiful family, and said "Yes."

It is an amazing feeling to know that your sorrow can be transformed into joy for another family. Ruby's story made a difficult choice easier for us. Her amazing parents are on a mission to raise awareness about organ/tissue donation. In their grief they have managed to find hope and ultimately save the lives of children and adults waiting for transplants. They are incredible examples to me.

You can learn more about Ruby and the facts about organ/tissue donation on their website. http://www.rubyjanefoundation.org/

If you live in California you can participate in their 1st annual Run for Ruby in January.

You can register to be an organ donor here.

2 comments:

  1. You are so sweet to share this!

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  2. My heart too aches for Ruby's family. Interestingly enough, the first words that came out of my mouth when they told me Bennett was gone was if it was too late to donate his organs. Unfortunately, since he'd been gone for hours, only a skin donation was possible and I I wasn't willing to do that.

    My heart aches for you. Every. Day. I miss your sweet Jonah with you. And I cry tears for your breaking Mother Heart.

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