My life would be vastly different without donation. Our oldest daughter, Beatrice, was born with a rare liver disease and at six months old she received her lifesaving transplant. I was lucky enough to be her donor and I can’t imagine life without her. Since our last photo shoot, our family has expanded! We always knew we wanted more than one child but after how traumatic the situation was with Beatrice, we had to conquer the fear that history wouldn’t necessarily repeat itself. When Beatrice was just under two years old we welcomed a very healthy Poppy into our family and two years after that, we were gifted with another healthy girl, Louise. Just having celebrated our six year “liverversary” – I can’t believe how much we have been through and how much I have learned. Knowing what I know now, I would tell someone in our position to remain positive and be an advocate for your loved one. Having served a short stint on the Board at LifeCenter, I learned that the heart of this organization is just as good on the inside as it is on the outside. I’ve been continually impressed with how dedicated LifeCenter is to their mission and how big of an impact they are making in the community. My hope is that education and awareness aren’t even a part of LifeCenter’s strategy in their next 40 years. I hope that by then, the majority of people make the decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor automatically.
– Hillary Weidner, Mother and Living Donor of Bea
