News
HOPE Elects New Officers for 2009/2010
Members of HOPE approved a new slate of officers during their monthly meeting on February 9th. Serving for the next two years are Kim Garbutt as President, Mike Lane as Vice President, Kim Wilson as Secretary and Mary Walker as Treasurer.
Kim Garbutt Mike Lane Kim Wilson Mary Walker
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Celebration of Life 2007
The HOPE Transplant Support Organization hosted the 12th annual “Celebration of Life” on December 1, 2007. This is the largest annual gathering of transplant recipients in the state of Oklahoma. The event was held at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City with more than 300 guests in attendance. Grateful recipients, along with family and friends, transplant candidates and families, and donor families enjoyed visiting, taking pictures, and eating the delicious array of food and desserts.
The traditional Christmas trees decorated with recipient ornaments, some of which date back to the mid-1990’s, were a popular spot for taking pictures. Four beautiful quilts, composed of quilt squares with recipient names and a personalized design, were also displayed. The first quilt was started in 1995 and the additional quilts were added as new recipients completed their squares. This was the first time that all four quilts were on display at “Celebration of Life.”
The program, held in the John L. Henry Auditorium, included guest speaker Marilyn Yeakley, a donor mom, who shared her family’s story of their little daughter's journey and of her eventually becoming an organ donor. Larry Behrens, a liver recipient, shared his story about the miracle of transplantation. Dr. Nicholas Jabbour, Chief Medical Director of Nazih Zudhi Transplant Institute, spoke on behalf of NZTI. Rookie recipients, those who received their transplants within the last two years, were recognized and given a long-stem red rose. A longevity certificate and rose were presented to those in attendance who were the longest-living recipients for each type of organ transplant.
Following the program, the traditional group picture was taken of the transplant recipients attending this year’s event, along with Dr. Jabbour, Dr. Anthony Sebastian, transplant surgeon and Gary Sigle, Administrative Director of NZTI. To see the group picture, as well as others taken during “Celebration of Life”… click here.
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HOPE Members Participate in OETA’s AugustFest 2007
On Saturday afternoon, August 11th, volunteers from HOPE “manned the phones” for OETA’s AugustFest 2007, taking pledges of support for public television. HOPE has a long history of being a part of OETA’s annual August fundraiser. HOPE members drove in from Seminole and Ardmore to participate with members from the Oklahoma City area. Our volunteers were heart, kidney, liver, and kidney/pancreas recipients and spouses of transplant recipients. Mr. Gaylon Stacey served as OETA’s emcee for the afternoon. He provided opportunities for public awareness of HOPE Transplant Support Organization through an interview with Karen Bowzer, HOPE’s AugustFest coordinator, and by mentioning the organization’s name numerous times. During HOPE’s six-hour shift, volunteers took calls for pledges totaling $31,470! This year, OETA set an AugustFest goal of $400,000. On the final Sunday evening, August 12th, OETA supporters surpassed that goal when pledges totaled $401,450.
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Quilts on Display at State Capitol
Throughout history, quilts have been known to carry messages, share feelings and tell stories in fabrics, colors and patterns. This tradition was vividly evident in the six quilts on display at the Oklahoma State Capitol from April 2-6, 2007. HOPE Transplant Support Organization, LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma and Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute sponsored the display.
The display included two donor quilts that illustrate the remarkable gift of life through donation and tell the stories of heroes who were organ, eye and/or tissue donors. “The donor quilts provide our families an opportunity to give the public a very small glimpse of their loved one such as their hobbies, personal quotes and beliefs. Most importantly, the quilts are a source of pride for our families by uniting their loved one’s square with others who believed in the donation process and giving the gift of life,” said Julie Avants, Donor Family Representative for LifeShare.
The four recipient quilts illustrate the miracle of transplantation and tell the stories of hundreds of recipients who have been blessed with the gift of life through organ, eye or tissue transplants. “The HOPE Transplant Support Organization is excited to present our recipient quilts with the donor quilts from LifeShare of Oklahoma. The donor quilts reflect the depth of a love for life, which is seen in giving the gift of life to strangers. This gift of life would not be possible for us without the donors - which these quilts represent. The recipient quilts are a beautiful way to share the heart-felt thanks of the recipients and their families for a second chance at life with the people of Oklahoma,” said Carmen Eppler, HOPE President and liver recipient of ten years.
Click here for more quilt display pictures.
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HOPE Elects New Officers
On March 12, 2007, members of HOPE approved a slate of officers who will serve for the next two years. The newly-elected officers are Carmen Eppler as President, Linda Monnard as Vice President, Connie Byrum as Secretary and Charla Chappelle as Treasurer.
Carmen Eppler Linda Monnard Connie Byrum Charla Chappelle
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A Helping Hand From HOPE
In July of 2003, HOPE took on the responsibility of supplying the Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute’s patient apartments with paper products, soaps and cleaning supplies. Sandy Harvey, HOPE volunteer coordinator for the apartments, has said that the out-of-town transplant patients who stay in the apartments are very appreciative.
Sandy shops for items based on an inventory sheet provided by the Director of Volunteer Services for INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center. If you are interested in participating in this effort, you may reach Sandy at txhope@txhope.org for advice on which products to purchase or you may request that Sandy accept your donation and do your shopping for you. You will be provided a receipt for your donation.
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LifeShare Donor Registry
On May 8th, 2003, Governor Brad Henry signed the LifeShare Donor Registry bill during a ceremony at the capitol as he was flanked by organ, eye and tissue recipients, donor family members, and Sen. J. Berry Harrison, the author of the bill.
Governor Henry paid special tribute to the donor families in attendance and one family in particular, Greg and Tammy Westermier, of Luther, whose 14-year-old daughter, Amanda, had died just a few weeks before in a barrel racing accident.
In a commentary sent to newspapers across the state, Governor Henry said, "The parents of Amanda Westermier have noted how generous their daughter was. By their difficult and admirable decision to donate Amanda's organs, the Westermiers have assured that their daughter's legacy of giving will live on after her death. I encourage all Oklahomans to follow Amanda's example and give the gift of life by registering as an organ donor."
Senate Bill 586 accomplishes several things. In addition to the driver's license and advance directive, it makes a donor card, state identification card, and online or other registry enrollment form valid as consent for donation, and takes precedence over the wishes of the donor's family. It also provides for the creation of the LifeShare Donor Registry. The registry will contain the names of Oklahomans who have indicated their desire to donate on their driver's license, by registering online or by filling out a registry form. When an Oklahoman dies in a way that would allow him/her to be a donor, transplant coordinators will be able to access the registry 24 hours a day to determine whether that person had registered to be a donor. That information can then be made available to the donor's family and donation may proceed.
With the signing of the bill, Oklahoma became one of fifteen states with some kind of donor registry. A number of other states are now seeking legislation to create a registry. With minor amendments to the bill, the LifeShare Donor Registry legislation passed the House and Senate unanimously.