Giving the Most Precious Gift...

the Gift of Life

ast summer, 11-year-old Sarah McPharlin was your typical, happy, active pre-teen. In fact, the sixth-grader was an avid soccer player.

Then something went terribly wrong. An irregularly slow heart­beat caused her to collapse suddenly at her community's swimming pool. She was diagnosed with myocarditis, a rare and sometimes fatal heart infection, which caused her heart to stop beating five times.

Sarah first received a pacemaker at Children's Hospital of Michigan. She then became the first Michigan child to receive a "left ventricle assist device," which helped her heart pump blood to all her organs. However, this was just temporary. Sarah was deteriorating quickly, and her doctors informed her family that she would die if she didn't receive a heart transplant soon. There were some false hopes early on when donor hearts became available, but one was too big and one was not healthy enough. Fortunately, a donor heart became available before it was too late.

    Sarah survived the 12-hour transplant surgery and has contin­ued to improve. Today she's back home with her two sisters, having fought her way back to health. She looks forward to returning to her middle school and joining her soccer teammates soon.

"We are deeply grateful to Children's Hospital and our Blue Cross certified case manager, Mary Plante, who gave us the support and encouragement we needed as we went through this traumatic experience," say Sarah's parents, Jim and Dianne McPharlin. "Thank God for the family of the heart donor who had the courage to see beyond their own grief, and the knowl­edgeable, compassionate staff at Children's Hospital who together gave Sarah the gift of life."

	In 1997, Detroit's Debbie Dandie was one such mother who had the courage to see beyond her own grief and make that momen­tous decision. Her only daughter, Carlisha, was only 20 when she was critically injured in an auto accident. When she died a week later, Dandie donated Carlisha's organs - heart, kidneys, lungs and cornea. She found out later that all the donated organs were successfully transplanted in several preteen girls and young adults. Dandie recalls how compassionate and patient the Gift of Life agency people were to help her through the experience, which still gives her an enormous sense of peace. In fact, she treasures the notes she received, anonymously, from some of the recipients.
Carlisha Dandie, 1997 transplant donor	Last year, 542 patients in Michigan received an organ transplant and 201 died waiting for one. Almost 2,500 Michigan residents are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Talk with your family about organ and tissue donation, pick up a donor registry card at your local Secretary of State office and note your request on the back of your driver's license.

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