As Rhonda Robert stood on the field of Capaha Park before Southeast Missouri State University’s baseball game on Saturday, she remembered when her then-four-year-old daughter Claire would play catch with her son, Kaden. He was 15 years old at the time. A baseball player for his high school in Benton and travel team, he was a pitcher and a catcher.

Four years later, Claire was getting ready to throw out the first pitch of the Redhawks’ Green Up Game, designed to raise awareness for organ and tissue donation while also honoring donors and celebrating with transplant recipients. Claire’s toss would have made her brother proud: Right over the plate.  

In 2014, Kaden’s life was taken by an accidental shooting. He saved five lives and helped many more as an organ and tissue donor. Claire’s first pitch was in honor of her big brother, who was a game-changer on and off the field. “My heart was full,” Rhonda said of the on-field moment at Capaha Park. “Full of pride, and love and hope … hope that the people here witnessing this can find the courage to do the same, to be a positive influence and a game-changer in someone else’s life.”

Kaden was well-known, well-loved and a leader on his sports teams in school. Kaden’s passion for baseball inspired his family to create organ donation awareness events with the Benton High School baseball team and in the surrounding communities. In fact, Saturday’s Green Up Game was inspired by families like the Roberts, who have raised awareness at their own Green Up Games. Since 2014, Kaden’s family has organized 14 Green Up games, raising thousands of dollars to support transplant patients waiting for a lifesaving gift and inspiring thousands of people to join the organ and tissue donor registry providing hope to those in need of a transplant. “Kaden is our inspiration, he’s our drive for what we’re doing,” Rhonda said. “He’s always there inspiring us and giving us the courage to go forward.”

Liam’s Running First Pitch
Four-year-old Liam Gregory walked out to the pitcher’s mound with his parents, Jessica and Laramy. He took the ball from his dad’s hand as they encouraged him to throw the ball to the catcher, crouched behind the plate. Liam ran.

He ran right down the middle of the plate and dropped the ball in the catcher’s glove. The crowd responded with laughter and cheers, enjoying the playful moment of a young boy. For Laramy and Jessica, it was a moment worthy of laughter and thanks. About two years ago, they couldn’t imagine Liam running on a baseball field.

“That was great,” Laramy said. “To be able to see him do something like that, they told us he may never be able to walk. It’s just great to come out and show what he can do. It’s an honor to be able to show donor families what their gift does. It gives life, and it’s the greatest gift they could give.”

In 2015, just before his second birthday, Liam was rushed to the hospital, where his heart stopped beating and he had a stroke. After doctors revived Liam, he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. Liam received a lifesaving heart transplant on Christmas Day 2015. He was able to “throw out” a first pitch at Capaha Park on Saturday because someone else made a generous and heroic decision to be an organ and tissue donor.   

Landon Gardner walked to the mound for the ceremonial first pitch at US Baseball Park and took a quick look in to Drury University baseball team catcher Collin Garner. Landon fired the ball to Collin. And with that pitch, Mid-America Transplant’s first Green Up Game was underway.

Landon received a heart transplant in 2017. A year earlier, as he waited for a lifesaving gift at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, leaving the medical complex -- let alone going to a baseball game and walking to the mound to throw a ball – wasn’t possible. He spent six months in the hospital, followed by a pair of multi-week stays.

After a pre-game ceremony recognizing organ and tissue donors, Landon visited with fans at the game to share his story. “It’s a great way and exciting for me to get my story out there and encourage others to sign up to be organ donors,” Landon said. “It’s something that can save a life and change a life.”

With more than 115,000 people nationwide waiting for a lifesaving transplant, the Drury Panthers message to fans was that we can all make a difference in the lives of others. The team traded in their signature black and red cap for a blue-and-green, Donate Life-themed hat for the game. Throughout the game, previously recorded video messages from the players encouraged fans to join the organ and tissue donor registry.

Landon’s hero has also allowed him to ride horses again, a passion that was limited after he received a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) while waiting for a transplant. This summer he looks forward to attending Cardinals games – both in St. Louis and Springfield.

On this spring day, he was thrilled to be on the mound at US Baseball Park. “It’s really incredible,” Landon said of his transplant.

The audience was silent as Bill Coon hunched over to describe how he walked from a public transit train platform through the streets of Chicago to the radio station at which he was interning. Bill had captivated the audience of 300 high school students by telling them he was a kidney recipient and a two-time heart recipient. The students came to Central Visual Performing Arts High School from around the St. Louis area for Mid-America Transplant’s first Donate Life High School Rally. 

Twenty years earlier, Bill was born with a congenital heart defect. The odds were stacked against him. Heart transplants, let alone infant heart transplants, were not a common procedure. Few had performed the surgery. Still, Bill’s parents signed the paperwork to add him to the list. 

One month after he was born, Bill became the fourth heart transplant recipient in the Midwest and the eighth in the nation. As an infant, Bill wasn’t made aware of all of the signs that could indicate a problem with his new heart.

Bill was two blocks from the radio station when everything “started moving in slow motion,” he said. He reached for a planter box on the sidewalk to steady himself. He could see the radio station, yet it seemed so far away. His vision started spinning. He was struggling to breathe.

Bill explained to the students at the Donate Life High School Rally that he completed his work shift that day. About a month later, a new symptom – pain in his leg – prompted him to talk with his mother. She knew both episodes were signs of heart failure. The heart he received as an infant wasn’t working.

He spent 70 days in the hospital with many complications, including seizures, before a heart and kidney were found for him. Three hours later, he was in surgery.

He said he only received a transplant because of someone like the donor family member who spoke before him. Tara Zobrist shared about the life and legacy of her brother, Cody, who was a tissue donor. Tara told the crowd about Cody’s decision to help others and how it has shaped her life, passion and career. She works for Mid-America Transplant as an aftercare coordinator, serving donor families through their grief journey.

As Bill continued, he told the students his experience in 2009 led him to that moment on stage, telling his story in honor of his donor’s legacy: “I wanted to live the life that I wanted to live.”
 

Will Shoults couldn’t remember the last time he threw a baseball. It didn’t stop him from throwing a great first pitch at Tuesday’s Green Up Game between Missouri State and Missouri at Hammons Field in Springfield.

The 13-year-old’s toss was in honor of his father, Dr. Nick Shoults, who became an organ, eye, and tissue donor in 2017 after a tragic mountain biking accident. The first pitch, a moment of silence, and the game gave Dr. Shoults’ family the opportunity to talk about their patriarch’s life and legacy.

“For me, this was a great way to remember him, especially because he was someone who spent his whole career helping someone else and ended his career helping several other people,” said Velvet Shoults, Dr. Shoults’ wife. “And it’s a domino effect, so many people are affected because he said he wanted to do this if something happened to him. It’s such a joy for someone to honor the commitment he made, and the sacrifice we as a family made to make that happen.”

Dr. Shoults was a general surgeon at Mercy Hospital. He practiced for 30 years in the Springfield community and touched the lives of thousands of patients.  He had a reputation among his colleagues for expecting a positive attitude and focused attention on his patients, especially in the operating room.

He was also known for not being able to say no. He would routinely tell patients to come into the office the next morning, even if there wasn’t a time slot available. “He would make his nurse crazy,” Velvet said. “They would be an hour behind, but he wanted to talk with everyone. He didn’t want them to have to wait for their results.” And his patients loved him. “They made cards, they named cattle after him and made blankets, brought food,” Velvet said of the gifts given to his office after his passing.

Back at Hammons Field, many in the crowd of 3,300 visited with Mid-America Transplant representatives at its registry table to learn more about organ and tissue donation and join the registry. They entered to win a green Missouri State Bears shirt by answering trivia questions or posting a picture to the hashtag #GreenUpGames.

Before the game, Dr. Shoults’ family met with Missouri State baseball coach Keith Guttin. The conversation represented lives touched by donation in very different ways, yet both had an immense ripple effect on countless lives.

Dr. Shoults became a donor in November of 2017. A month later, Coach Guttin’s daughter saved a friend’s life as a living kidney donor. “This is on the front burner for us,” Coach Guttin said of his family. “She helped a lady, and we’re very proud of her. As soon as this opportunity to partner with Mid-America Transplant came up, we wanted to help.”

Coach Guttin thought the pre-game ceremony was meaningful to his players. “When you’re that young, you usually don’t pay attention to things like that unless it’s an immediate family member,” Guttin said. “I think this really pushed it to the front for them. I think their eyes were opened.”

With about one city block left in Team Michael’s leg of the 6th annual Homers for Health Game Ball Relay - GBR18, Michael’s father, Shawn Loness, called out, “Robyn, come up front!” Robyn Rosenberger ran up from the middle of the pack.

Robyn has walked closely with the family and Team Michael for the last several months. On Thursday, she talked with Michael at the Game Ball Relay, eliciting smiles and laughs from the boy whose life she saved in January. This day – participating in this St. Louis tradition -- was made possible for Michael because he received a lifesaving kidney transplant from Robyn.

Michael, who turns two years old later this month, had a big smile and reached for Robyn as she caught up with him and Shawn. She carried Michael and the game ball to the next leg of #GBR18. The symbolism is great. It only made sense for this duo, who are forever connected by the kidney donation that saved Michael’s life, to complete the fourth leg of this relay. Robyn was there for and with Michael, just as she was in January.

“This is an awesome chance to celebrate,” said Robyn, who came with her husband and three children. “My family hasn’t met Michael, but they know all about him. Michael needs to be in very clean environments, so the families have never spent time together. This is really the first thing we’ve been able to do just for fun.”

Robyn met Michael and his family when she delivered a TinySuperheroes cape to Michael. TinySuperheroes is a company founded by Robyn. It is dedicated to creating child-sized capes for children as they overcome an illness or disability.

When Robyn delivered the cape, Sarah shared his journey: the 11 surgeries, the dialysis routine, the waiting, and the hopes for a donor. Robyn was inspired. She felt called to be tested as a possible match for Michael.

Meanwhile, Michael and his family continued to wait. Their life was planned around dialysis treatments. He went to Cardinal Glennon three times per week for treatments. He had a feeding tube. He was monitored by the Complex Medical Care Team at Cardinal Glennon because he was under the care of so many specialists. And they waited. They hoped for a living donor. They prayed for a living donor.

Those hopes and prayers were answered. Two months after Robyn began the testing to be Michael’s donor, she was approved. She told Michael and his family over video chat. (Click the play button below and move to the 2:23 mark to see the moment Robyn tells Michael and Sarah that she’s a match for Michael and will donate her kidney to him.) 

Michael returned home just seven days after the transplant. Sarah says he has recovered beautifully, and his progress will be monitored through regular visits to the hospital. While the transplant is not a cure for kidney disease, it does allow Michael to experience life as a child should.

The transplant provided him a special opportunity to participate in an unofficial St. Louis holiday – St. Louis Cardinal Opening Day – by participating in the relay of the official game ball from Cardinal Glennon to Busch Stadium. “Seeing him live a somewhat normal life after this because someone was so selfless is amazing,” Sarah said. “There are no other words.”

To help illustrate the message of donation, Donate Life America creates unique artwork for each National Donate Life Month. The 2018 National Donate Life Month (NDLM) art was inspired by the image of a rainbow, and Maya Angelou’s quote, “Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”

Often following a storm, the presence of a rainbow provides optimism and motivates us to endure through dark times. Organ, eye and tissue donation is the bridge of comfort and hope between one family’s mourning and another’s healing — turning tragedy into renewed life. The Donate Life rainbow in the National Donate Life Month artwork rises from stormy clouds, recognizing that it takes both rain and light to create the gift of a rainbow.

Maya Angelou’s message applies to all of us, no matter our background or experiences. We all know rainbows in the people that have helped carry us through life and its challenges. In turn, we have the opportunity to be rainbows in other people’s clouds through the gift of organ, eye and tissue donation. By registering to be a donor and considering living donation, you can change one ray of light into a spectrum of healing and compassion.

“While we work to increase the number of registered organ and tissue donations that save and heals lives this April, it’s important to remember this month serves to honor those who have made the selfless decision to give to others through organ and tissue donation,” said Diane Brockmeier, President and CEO of Mid-America Transplant. “We are truly inspired by the courageous decision made by donors and donor families to help others in a time of unimaginable grief.”

You can register your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor at RegisterMe.org or in the Medical ID tab of the iPhone Health app. To learn more about being a living donor, please visit DonateLife.net.

We celebrate that 56 percent of U.S. adults have registered their decision to make LIFE possible and be organ, eye and tissue donors at the time of their death. Yet the number of people in need of transplants continues to outpace the number of organs donated. Currently, 116,000** people are waiting for a transplant and a second chance at life. On average, 22 people die each day because the organ they need is not donated in time—that is almost one person dying every hour. You can help by registering your decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor, and learning more about living donation.

*Maya Angelou™ is a trademark licensed by Caged Bird Legacy, LLC
**Data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) as of December 11, 2017

About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ and tissue donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ and tissue donors, recipients and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment to provide more organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 58 such organizations in the U.S., and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence and a three-time recipient of the Missouri Quality Award.

About Donate Life America 
Donate Life America (DLA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization leading its national partners and Donate Life State Teams to increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissue available to save and heal lives. DLA manages and promotes Donate Life℠, the national brand for the cause of donation; motivates the public to register as organ, eye and tissue donors; provides education about living donation; manages the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org; and develops and executes effective multi-media campaigns to promote donation.

“I’m glad I was able to bring this opportunity to our state by working in cooperation and finding public/private entities to work as a coalition,” Baringer said. “After I noticed other states already implemented this system, I wanted to ensure Missourians had the same ability. This is an efficient way to allow more citizens to sign up for organ donation.” 

“I urge all Missourians to donate the gift for the benefits of all Missourians and their families who are in need of life-saving medical procedures,” Cookson said. “Be a hero.” 

Representatives Cookson and Baringer would like to express their appreciation to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for their cooperation and assistance in solidifying more opportunities to save lives in Missouri. Representatives Baringer and Cookson would like to give special thanks to Mid America Transplant for their hard work and collaboration throughout this process.

The Southeast Missouri Department of Athletics and Mid-America Transplant have announced a new partnership aimed at raising awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation while honoring and celebrating organ and tissue donors, donor families, and transplant recipients.

The three-year partnership will be featured in April, which is designated as National Donate Life Month. The partnership is highlighted by two “Green Up” games, one each in baseball and softball season. The baseball “Green Up” game is scheduled for April 21 against OVC-rival Murray State. The softball “Green Up” game is April 14 against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Fans will have the opportunity to learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation and register their decision to be a donor at the “Green Up” games.

“This is an exciting, new partnership for our organization,” Mid-America Transplant President and CEO Diane Brockmeier said. “For years the Cape Girardeau community and the surrounding area have shown exceptional generosity to help others through organ and tissue donation. With the support of the Southeast Missouri Department of Athletics, this partnership will allow us to continue honoring organ and tissue donors, while also educating the public on the lifesaving benefits of donation.”

SEMO Athletics will “Go Green” during the month of April. Baseball, softball, and soccer will have Donate Life-themed uniforms for select games while student-athletes participating in tennis and track and field will have the opportunity to wear Donate Life-themed headbands, wristbands and other accents. The Donate Life shades of green and blue represent ongoing efforts to increase the number of people registered as organ, eye, and tissue donors.

“We are thrilled to partner with Mid-America Transplant for this unique initiative,” Southeast Missouri Director of Athletics Brady Burke said. “Organ and tissue donation is such an important topic, and we are honored to be able to use our athletics platform to help raise awareness in our community.”

Mid-America Transplant is eager to partner with the Southeast Missouri Department of Athletics to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation. More than 115,000 people are currently waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant nationwide after a year in which a record 34,768 organ transplants were performed in the United States. Mid-America Transplant contributed to the 2017 record by facilitating the recovery of an organizational record 718 lifesaving organs from 223 selfless, heroic organ donors. 

The Department of Athletics and Mid-America Transplant selected April because of its designation as National Donate Life Month (NDLM). Created in 2003 by Donate Life America, NDLM features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ and tissue donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ and tissue donors, recipients and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment to provide more organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 58 such organizations in the U.S., and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence and a three-time recipient of the Missouri Quality Award.

"I'm honored they chose to honor Olivia,” Angela told KOLR 10, which covered the event. “She absolutely deserves it. I'm saying that because I'm her mom, but I'm also saying that because she saved five lives. She definitely deserves that honor."

Mid-America Transplant is sponsoring Olivia’s portrait, which is one of 44 floragraphs to be showcased on the Donate Life Float during the parade. The portraits represent organ and tissue donors from across the nation and are made entirely of organic floral materials, such as spices, seeds, and crushed flowers. Thousands of additional roses with personal dedications of love and remembrance also will be part of the float, which has the theme, The Gift of Time. Donor families and transplant recipients also will be riding the float.

Olivia made the decision to become an organ and tissue donor when she received her first driver’s license. She had a conversation with her mother about joining the donor registry just a few months before the accident. That conversation led Angela to honoring Olivia’s wishes to be a donor, and to share Olivia’s heroic story. “It was important enough for Olivia to have the conversation with me and make the decision to be an organ donor,” Angela said. “She had a heart for it. So not only do I want to share her story, but I want to help save lives like she did. Even if it’s indirectly by sharing her story.”

Olivia was a rising senior at Republic High School. She was friendly and energetic. She made friends with everyone. Olivia had a genuine heart. She was a runner and liked old movies and photography. And she was a very giving person. Olivia’s compassion and willingness to help others continued even in her passing. Through organ donation, Olivia saved five lives: a teenage boy received her heart, two men in their 50s received her kidneys, a 27-year-old man received her liver, and her lungs saved a 61-year-old grandmother.

The Tournament of Roses Parade will take place beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 1, 2018. More than 40 million viewers are expected to watch the parade on television. For more information on the Donate Life Float and all of the floragraph honorees, please visit www.donatelifefloat.org. 

It was a Sunday morning. Kolleen Nisbet was in her morning routine. “I was getting ready to eat my cereal,” she said. “I took two bites and I felt nauseous and broke out into a sweat. I got dizzy.”

She thought it was a heart issue. A couple weeks earlier, her primary care physician asked if she had ever been diagnosed with a heart murmur. She hadn’t. “They did a CAT scan of my heart,” Kolleen said of her trip to the emergency room near her home in Mendon, Illinois that Sunday morning. “They said my heart was OK, but I had a mass across my stomach. They referred me to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.”

At Barnes-Jewish Hospital, they discovered Kolleen had a benign, rare, and large tumor attached to her liver. “Rarer than rocking horse poop, the doctor told us,” said Curt, Kolleen’s husband since January 2017. “She’s one of under 1,000 cases. And very few need a liver transplant.”

She was placed on the liver transplant waiting list on June 9. Three weeks later, she received the call. As she recovered from transplant, Kolleen and Curt sought living arrangements near her transplant center for follow-up appointments and rehabilitation.

Family House was ideal for them and Kolleen’s 12-year-old son. “We would probably be staying at a hotel if it weren’t for Family House,” Kolleen said. “This is so nice, so much better. It’s a home. You can prepare meals without going out for every lunch and supper. You have privacy and quiet time. It’s so much more comfortable.”

Family House has provided them quiet, safe, comfortable accommodations as Kolleen navigates life with a new liver. “It’s been wonderful,” Curt said. “This is a great place, and we really appreciate it.”

Sixteen percent of Family House guests are liver patients. Almost 90 percent of guests have received a lifesaving transplant. All guests extend their gratitude to donors and donor families. “Hopefully someday we’ll get to meet her donor family,” Curt said. “If not, that’s OK too. We are extremely grateful to them, and we always will be.”