Jennifer was an only child. And she had talked with her mother, Royce, about organ donation. Jennifer believed in it. But of course, being a teenager, Jen never thought about the day when she would die so she could be a donor.

It was May. It was Mother’s Day. And it was an accident that affected Royce in a deep and sad way.

On Mother’s Day last year Jennifer was a passenger in a car that smashed into the back of a school bus. She died four days later never having met Michael…the young man who she would give sight to.

But “Jennifer would have liked Michael,” Joyce says today with a smile.

Michael had undergone routine eye surgery…but woke up in excruciating pain, unable to see. And for seven weeks, with mounting apprehension, he lived with a growing realization that he may never see again.

Ever!

But fate intervened.

Jennifer’s Mom made sure the doctor’s knew of her daughter’s organ donation wish. She made sure Jen’s wishes were respected.

One of the donated organs was Jennifer’s left cornea. And Michael received it—an anonymous gift. “It is the greatest gift I could ever receive,” he whispers.

He called Royce this year, today…on Mother’s Day—the first anniversary of her daughter’s death. Royce’s day had started out in a bad way. But never having met Michael before, Joyce’s mood changed to one of elation.

“Your daughter will be able to look at the world and see great things,” promised Michael.

Royce had expected nothing in return. She had only followed through with her daughter’s wishes. But now she found that her daughter’s kind, charitable gift had brought a new beginning.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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