Laura was a generous caregiver, both as a nurse and as a mother of two children. She lived her life selflessly serving others – which is why her choice to be an organ, eye and tissue donor came as no surprise to her children. That’s just who she was.
Laura’s daughter, Rachael, has an overflowing bank of memories of her mom laughing and enjoying life. “She loved to live. She loved to laugh and make everyone around her laugh as well,” Rachael recalled. “I have so many memories riding in the backseat of the car with the windows rolled down, and mom signing at the top of her lungs all while laughing at herself.”
Laura served as a nurse for most of her life. Often bringing her children along after school to the nursing home where she worked, she demonstrated to them what it looked like to truly care
for others, sitting and visiting with patients and bringing them into her family. “My mom was a good nurse,” Rachael said. “She really cared about the people she was taking care of.”
There’s not a day that Rachael doesn’t reach for the phone to call her mom to check-in or ask for advice. However, knowing that her mom lives on through the restored sight of two strangers has brought comfort to Rachael and her brother.
Rachael wrote a heartfelt letter to her mom’s corneal recipients to let them know how much her mom would have loved them and how, because of their mom’s example, Rachael and her brother now considered them to be a part of their family.
“I can’t express enough how grateful we are that her desire to help lives on, just like she would have wanted,” Rachael wrote. “Know that she would have loved you simply for being you, as she loved every single person who was a part of her life. Now you will always be loved by us and a part of our lives.”
View more of Laura’s story here.
Organ, eye and tissue donation leaves behind a lasting legacy of love. Register to become a donor at registerme.org.
Restore sight to others by making a gift to Advancing Sight Network. Visit advacingsight.org/give-financially or mail your check to:
Advancing Sight Network
Attn: Development Office
500 Robert Jemison Road
Birmingham, AL 35209