John's Ultimate Gift

On Easter Sunday, at 9:00 in the morning, we received a telephone call from the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium letting us know that our son, John William, was being taken into the operating room in order to have his organs removed for donation. We of course shed tears, tears of sorrow for our son but also tears of joy from the realization that on that glorious Easter Sunday morning there were a number of families experiencing gladness and relief due to the final gift from our son, the gift of life itself. Recently, we received a letter from the consortium informing us of the results of John's generosity. We'd like to share those results with John's friends and family.


John's heart was transplanted into a 57 year-old retired realtor. He is married, has four children, and two grandchildren. He was on the waiting list for three days prior to transplant. He suffered from Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), a disease of unknown cause that results in an enlarged heart that does not pump properly. His transplant was a success, and he is in good condition. He is looking forward to returning to some of his favorite hobbies, which include cooking and telling stories to his grandchildren. He is very happy and grateful for this gift of life that John gave him.

John's liver and left kidney were both gifted to a 56 year-old married man who lives in Virginia. Prior to receiving his transplant, he suffered from a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) liver disease which is fatal. He was on dialysis for two weeks, and he was on the waiting list for five months. Although he suffered some minor setbacks, his transplant was a success. John's recipient enjoys spending time with his family doing leisure activities. He is very grateful for this second chance at life that John has given to him.

John's pancreas and right kidney was gifted to a 53 year-old woman. She is a retired Verizon employee who has one child and one grandchild. Prior to receiving these precious gifts, she suffered from diabetes. She was on dialysis for nine months, and on the waiting list for seven months. The transplant was a success and John's recipient is in good condition. She enjoys sewing and solving puzzles. She appreciates John's precious gifts.

Learn more at www.beadonor.org

John's 31st

Wednesday, June 20th would have been John's 31st birthday. John's family and friends commemorated John's special day that night in Georgetown -- much the same way John had celebrated the big 3-0 a year before -- of course John's parents were not there for the original and we all had to settle for John's spirit a year later -- but he was most definitely there in spirit as indicated in the below pictures.

John's 31st B-day Celebration & Memorial Dedication

A tribute to John's 31st birthday and the dedication of his memorial was held on June 23rd. It was celebrated in true John-style; it was John's Kegger, Part II. The highlight of the evening was a beer-cup kickball game. Also, John's memorial was dedicated in true John-style with Mom cracking a bottle of Guinness on the wall of the memorial. The memorial connects to John’s life in a number of ways. The garden consists of a precipice overlooking the bay – recreating as best as we can John’s favorite picture of himself on a mountain peak in Arizona last year. Also, central to the memorial is a bench, which will be under the shade of three cherry trees that are identical to those surrounding the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. One of John’s last days was spent lying with Alex under the cherry trees at the Tidal Basin while they were in full bloom. His memorial should forever bloom on the anniversary of his death. It is where one and all can come to pay tribute to John’s spirit.

Authors Wanted

If you'd like to be able to post memories and tributes to John as well as photos directly to this blog as an author (other than just posting comments to existing entries) please let us know by sending an email to johnnywehardlyknewye@gmail.com. Also, be sure to pass the url for this blog (http://johnnywehardlyknewye.blogspot.com/) to all of John's friends, co-workers, kickballers, flip cup teammates and any and all who love life the way John did.

Greetings

This blog is dedicated to our son, John William. We only learned that he had always wanted to be called "Johnny" after his death, which occurred much, much too soon, on April 7, 2007.

John was thirty years old, our eldest; born on Father’s Day in 1976 (he was our “bicentennial baby”). Michael and Jessica are his brother and sister. John was single but we take great solace in knowing that for the last year of his life he experienced the same depth of love that we have experienced for over 35 years. John’s fiancée is Alexandra (or Alex as she prefers). Alex was the love of John’s life – his soul mate, and we are joyful Alex has become a member of the family.

John lived life to the fullest – he genuinely enjoyed life. And as his brother observed, the last year of John’s life was his best – he had hit his stride. He loved his job, which often took him all over the world. He bought his first home. He, of course, met Alex and fell in love. And he continued to be an extraordinary son and thoughtful grandson to his Papa (his father’s father) as well as his Grandma (his mother’s mother).

This blog is dedicated to John's memory. This site is intended to allow John's family and friends to post whatever they would like to his memory. We will also use it to keep everyone informed as to the status of John's memorial scholarship fund. John loved information technology – it was his passion. With the fund, we hope to, as his brother says, help the big geek foster a lot of little geeks – young people like John who share his love for technology.