Marie met Arnold about three years ago, just a few years after he moved to Maine from Colorado. They met on a blind date, the kind where one thing leads to another and soon they were celebrating what they called their “international marriage,” she being from Canada and he from the U.S. “He was bigger than life, over six feet tall with a full handlebar moustache that was his trademark – full of fun, happy-go-lucky, always laughing,” she said. “He had an amazing mind for details. A friend had mentioned in passing that a neat dollar coin she’d had was accidentally spent. So Arnie found the coin – a few of them, actually, from a few years in a row – and gave them to her.” This spirit of generosity, of connecting with the people around him, permeated his life and included his decision to sign up on the donor registry.
Right now, there are 117,729 Americans waiting for life-saving organ transplants, including nearly 2,000 Missourians. Approximately 46,000 Americans will require a cornea transplant this year, and more than 1 million Americans will receive a tissue transplant. During National Donate Life Month this April, you can help spread the word about eye, organ, and tissue donation and sign up for the donor registry.
Register
The most important thing you can do to make your own wishes known, after speaking with your family, is signing up on your state’s donor registry. By doing so, you make a public declaration of your intention to donate, which will make it that much easier on your family to fulfill your wishes. You can sign up at the Donate Life America website or your local Department of Motor Vehicles office, and information about each state registry in Heartland Lions Eye Banks’ three-state service area can be found here:
A Young Man’s Legacy: Choices of Independence and Donation
I. “Everybody loved Danial, and he loved everyone.”
When Danial Miller was born with spina bifida, the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States, his mother, Terri, decided she would do whatever it took to give him a “normal and independent life.” And by all accounts, he had just that. Danial used a wheelchair, but he also learned to drive, went to prom, played piano (“Lean On Me” was his favorite song), wrestled for the Hillsboro High School team, and started college coursework.
Mariah was a vivacious, outgoing 18-year-old when she lost her life in a texting while driving accident. Determined not to let her death be in vain, Mariah’s mother, Merry, has been on mission to save the lives of other teens – both as a spokesperson for AT&T’s “It Can Wait” anti-texting campaign and as a supporter of eye, organ and tissue donation.
When Chris of Jefferson City signed the back of his driver’s license, pledging to be an organ donor, he wasn’t sure donation would be possible if something happened to him because he had diabetes. Yet, according to his sister, Cheryl, his compassion for others led him to make the pledge – just in case.
For years, Judy of Manhattan, Kan. struggled with vision loss due to Fuchs' dystrophy, a degenerative disease of the cornea. As the condition progressed, she had difficulties reading a phone book or seeing the license plate on the car in front of her.
Marie met Arnold about three years ago, just a few years after he moved to Maine from Colorado. They met on a blind date, the kind where one thing leads to another and soon they were celebrating what they called their “international marriage,” she being from Canada and he from the U.S. “He was bigger than life, over six feet tall with a full handlebar moustache that was his trademark – full of fun, happy-go-lucky, always laughing,” she said. “He had an amazing mind for details. A friend had mentioned in passing that a neat dollar coin she’d had was accidentally spent. So Arnie found the coin – a few of them, actually, from a few years in a row – and gave them to her.” This spirit of generosity, of connecting with the people around him, permeated his life and included his decision to sign up on the donor registry.
Mariah was a vivacious, outgoing 18-year-old when she lost her life in a texting while driving accident. Determined not to let her death be in vain, Mariah’s mother, Merry, has been on mission to save the lives of other teens – both as a spokesperson for AT&T’s 
When Chris of Jefferson City signed the back of his driver’s license, pledging to be an organ donor, he wasn’t sure donation would be possible if something happened to him because he had diabetes. Yet, according to his sister, Cheryl, his compassion for others led him to make the pledge – just in case.
One of the biggest misconceptions about eye donation is that you can’t pledge to be a donor if you have cancer, diabetes or other chronic conditions.
For years, Judy of Manhattan, Kan. struggled with vision loss due to Fuchs' dystrophy, a degenerative disease of the cornea. As the condition progressed, she had difficulties reading a phone book or seeing the license plate on the car in front of her.
