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Fourth Quarter 2014

A Newsletter for Gift of Hope’s Partners and Friends

IN THIS ISSUE A Celebration of Hope Lifesaving Partner Awards Hispanic Community Outreach Morgan D’Organ Summer Tour

President/CEO J. Kevin Cmunt

IN THIS ISSUE

Director of Communications and Marketing Gregory Alford 630/758-2726 galford@giftofhope.org

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Life Savers

Back to School Tour

Gift of Hope honored 21 dedicated people, hospitals and health systems with Lifesaving Partner Awards at a special ceremony on October 10.

Nearly 5,600 students from 19 Illinois colleges and universities registered as organ and tissue donors during Gift of Hope’s expanded Back to School Tour.

Writer/Editor Tony Sullivan 630/758-2721 tsullivan@giftofhope.org Contributors Raiza Mendoza 630/758-2744 rmendoza@giftofhope.org Josh Muller 630/758-2743 jmuller@giftofhope.org Heidi Schaiberger 630/758-2740 hschaiberger@giftofhope.org

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Stories of Hope

Gift of Hope’s Community Affairs team held several summer and fall events aimed at educating African-Americans about organ and tissue donation and dispelling donation myths.

Three moving stories about a selfless donor and two grateful transplant recipients — stories of hope and life — illustrate the immeasurable good that comes from organ and tissue donation.

Diane Schmitz 630/758-2741 dschmitz@giftofhope.org Marion Shuck 630/758-2716 mshuck@giftofhope.org

Cover Photo: Alice Ho gave life to seven people as an organ donor in April 2014. She and husband Aaron were among the many people that Gift of Hope was privileged to work with this year to honor the donation decision and save and enhance lives through organ and tissue donation.

A Donate Life Organization Connections provides the Gift of Hope public and professional communities with news and information about Gift of Hope, organ and tissue donation and the importance of being a registered organ and tissue donor. We encourage you to share this newsletter with your friends and associates and learn more about donation by visiting GiftofHope.org.

Copyright © 2014.

All Rights Reserved.

Donors, Donor Families Honored at A Celebration of Hope Events Nearly 300 donor family members and their friends gathered for two special events held to honor loved ones who became organ, eye and tissue donors. In addition to a main tribute event held for donor family members whose loved ones became donors during the last year, a second event was added this year for Hispanic families, with the entire event conducted in Spanish. The main tribute was held September 20 at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill. The event for Hispanic donor families and friends was held October 4 at the National Museum of Mexican Arts in Chicago. At both events, attendees heard inspiring stories and testimony that celebrated the selfless individuals who offered the gift of hope through donation so that others may live.

Connections - A Celebration of Hope

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LIFE SAVERS Individuals and Health Organizations Honored for Going “Above and Beyond” to Support Donation

She may not be a part of Gift of Hope’s in-house team that works to ensure that every opportunity for donation has a successful outcome, but Leslee Stein-Spencer is still a major asset to Gift of Hope. Here’s why. Every tissue donor that comes through the emergency room of a Chicago hospital requires an ambulance report for the donor’s medical record, or the tissue recovered by Gift of Hope will not be released for transplantation.

“When I started my position in medical records at Gift of Hope seven years ago, we didn’t have a contact in the Chicago Fire Department to get this vital documentation,” says Karyl Hildebrand, Tissue Chart Liaison in Gift of Hope’s Medical Records Department. “We had to rely on the hospital medical records, hoping the ambulance report was scanned into the patient’s chart. Unfortunately, many charts lacked this important report that’s needed to clear the chart and make vital tissue available to people in need.”

After many calls to the Chicago Fire Department and speaking to many people, Karyl found Leslee (pictured above). “I explained to her what we do and why we do it. I provided all of the necessary documentation and information about our federal privacy laws exemption to her, and she got the go-ahead to provide us with these ambulance reports.”

Now, whenever Gift of Hope needs an ambulance report, Leslee makes sure it reaches Gift of Hope timely. “This helps us to clear charts faster and, for our time-sensitive cases, there’s no delay,” Karyl says. “The faster we can clear a chart, the faster we can start the process of making healing tissue available to people in need of tissue transplants that can help them return to healthy and productive lives.”

For all that Leslee did to help Gift of Hope carry out its mission, Karyl nominated her for a 2014 Gift of Hope Lifesaving Partner Award, and on October 10 she received that award along with 20 other people, hospitals and health systems recognized for their outstanding achievement in addressing the critical need for organ and tissue donation and going above and beyond the call of duty to make donation happen. Here are Gift of Hope’s 2014 Lifesaving Partner Award honorees:

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Amy Bandy, Carle Foundation Hospital Recognized for her tireless collaborative efforts to implement new processes and procedures that have helped to make her hospital one of the highest organ and tissue donation referral facilities in Gift of Hope’s service area.

Laura Barajas, Hispanic Hospitals & Community Council A living donor kidney transplant recipient and an active Gift of Hope Advocates for Hope volunteer, she was honored for championing donation and Gift of Hope’s mission as an outreach leader and serving as a powerful spokesperson for organ and tissue donation in the Hispanic community.

Jamie Bucio, The University of Chicago Medicine Recognized for leading The University of Chicago Medicine’s internal and external donation outreach efforts, which included encouraging nearly 300 hospital staff members to register as organ and tissue donors and the establishment of the hospital’s “Wall of Hope,” displaying words and pictures from donor families and recipients.

JoAnn Bennett, Advocate Sherman Hospital Honored for helping to significantly improve hospital donation data, enhance staff education on donation and ensure more timely potential donor referrals, all of which have resulted in improved donation outcomes at Advocate Sherman.

Robert and Kat Biekman, Maple Park United Methodist Church Recognized for their commitment to supporting and educating people not only in their own congregation but from all walks of life on the importance of having end-of-life discussions with family members and caregivers, including advanced care planning on organ and tissue donation.

Essie Bogan, African-American Task Force Honored and recognized for being not only a tireless advocate but a donor family member who became a champion for organ and tissue donation after the death of her husband, who offered the gift of life as a donor.

Stephen Cina, MD, Medical Examiner of Cook County Lauded for his strong and continued support of organ and tissue donation and Gift of Hope’s mission, which has resulted in more than 100 donation referrals from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office since 2013 compared to just two in the two-year period before Dr. Cina assumed the position.

Jason Cropsey and Edward Hunter, Presence Saint Joseph Hospital Recognized for their ongoing efforts to enhance staff education on donation, support donor families and overcome obstacles to donation in the community, all of which have resulted in improved donation outcomes at Presence Saint Joseph.

Johnna Ingersoll, Peoria County Coroner Honored for establishing a coroner’s office that is highly respected by families and those she partners with in the coroner and medical examiner field and for increasing opportunities for life-giving donations.

Linda Johnson, African-American Task Force Recognized for her staunch support of organ and tissue donation as exemplified by her participation in more than 100 donation-related events a year where she tirelessly spreads the word about organ and tissue donation and encourages people to register as lifesaving donors.

Larry and Vivian Lefferts, Donor Family Members Lauded for their everlasting support of donation by tirelessly sharing their personal message about the impact donation has upon family members at public events, through media channels and leadership activities as members of Gift of Hope’s Donor Family Advisory Council.

Doug Levy, Univision Local Media Recognized for giving Gift of Hope an unparalleled platform for transmitting its life-giving message by providing pro-bono advertising during 2014 World Cup Soccer telecasts aired by the network, helping to bring Gift of Hope’s donation message to more than 1 million people in Univision’s largely Hispanic viewer audience.

Priscilla Long-Holliday, African-American Task Force Honored for 28 years of volunteer service to help raise public awareness of organ and tissue donation and communicate the importance of registering as organ and tissue donors among residents of Chicago’s African-American communities through grassroots education and public awareness programs.

Angel Novoa, Angel Quinceañeras Dance Studio Honored for his work choreographing more than 500 quinceañeras and other major shows — each attracting more than 2,000 people — at which he promoted important

information about life-giving donation and the importance of being a registered donor to Latinos.

Michele Mazurek, Mount Sinai Hospital Recognized for being a staunch advocate and tireless champion for donation at Mount Sinai and for being a powerful catalyst to support and strengthen donation-related practices there.

Daniela Spaid, Fitness Formula Clubs Lauded for cultivating a partnership to raise donation awareness among Fitness Formula Clubs’ 23,000 members during National Donate Life Month through the development of the Fit for Life campaign, which promoted donation through donor registration drives held at FFC’s nine Chicago-area locations.

Leslee Stein-Spencer, Chicago Fire Department Honored for spearheading process improvements within the Chicago Fire Department to provide timely documentation that Gift of Hope needs to release donor tissue and make this vital gift available to people in need of healing transplants.

Surgical and Neurological Intensive Care Unit, Advocate Christ Medical Center Lauded for their strong and unwavering pro-donation stance that has pushed the boundaries to support donation, helped Advocate Christ realize unparalleled achievements in the donation arena and brought many lifesaving gifts to people waiting for organ and tissue transplants.

Carrie Stephen, Children’s Hospital of Illinois A double-lung transplant recipient, she was honored for opening many doors for Gift of Hope at her facility to channel the donation message to hospital administration and staff and for organizing grand rounds, speaker panels and donor drives that educated many hospital staff and visitors about the importance of organ and tissue donation.

Quinetta Taylor, Transplant Waitlist Candidate A Gift of Hope Advocates for Hope volunteer and an exemplary advocate for donation since 2013, she was recognized for sharing her story as someone who lost more than 120 pounds to become eligible for the kidney transplant waiting list in order to underscore the importance of being a registered donor.

The Zuleg Family, Donor Family Members Lauded for creating and launching a hospital-based donation awareness initiative — the distribution of “Forever in Our Hearts” blankets to families at Illinois hospitals as their loved ones are being prepared to offer the gift of life through donation — to bring warmth and comfort during this challenging time.

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Events Promote Donation During National Hispanic Heritage Month Capitalizing on Hispanic Heritage Month, which ran from September 15 to October 15, Gift of Hope held a series of events dedicated to honoring the contributions that Latino families have made to offering hope and life to others through donation.

Among those events was a 30 Stories in 30 Days campaign to share the moving stories of people who have been touched by donation — donor families, transplant recipients and people currently waiting for lifesaving transplants. The stories appeared on Gift of Hope’s Spanish Facebook page and Spanish-language website, GiftofHope.org/Espanol, and can still be viewed there.

Gift of Hope also held its first Celebration of Hope and Life, an event to honor and celebrate the heroic legacy of donors and donor families. The event, which took place on October 4 at the National Museum of Mexican Arts in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, was held exclusively for Latino donor families and conducted completely in Spanish.

Meanwhile, Gift of Hope joined Chicago dancer and choreographer Angel Novoa for The Dance of Giving, an original performance featuring more than 150 dancers from the Angel Quinceañeras

Students from Jose Clemente Orozco Academy — winners in Gift of Hope’s second annual A Story of Hope contest — display their certificates of participation and scholarship envelopes.

Academy who donated their time and talent to present 20 original dances to guests. The event, which took place on October 12 at the Olympic Theater in Cicero, Ill., benefited Gift of Hope’s Scholarships for Hope program, which helps Latino students pursue and achieve their educational goals.

Gift of Hope capped off its month-long Hispanic Heritage tribute with its second annual A Story of Hope contest, which aims to promote Spanish writing and literature and creativity among Hispanic youths. Students from Clemente Orozco Academy and Our Lady of Tepeyac took on the task of learning about organ and tissue donation by creating drawings and writing stories in Spanish. Winners in the writing category received scholarship awards ranging from $250 to $500.

2014 Back to School Tour Registers with College Students Gift of Hope’s annual Back to School Tour, conducted in August and September 2014, was a big success, with nearly 5,600 students registering as organ and tissue donors.

Each summer, representatives from Gift of Hope travel to schools throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana to encourage college students and staff members to register as lifesaving organ and tissue donors. The tour has expanded from three schools in 2012, the campaign’s first year, to 19 schools in 2014. In the tour’s three years of existence, more than 14,000 college students and staff members have said “yes” to donation.

This year’s top-performing schools in terms of numbers of students registered were the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign (1,835 registrations), Illinois State University (1,622 registrations) and Governor’s State University (354

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Connections - Donation News

Students at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., show off the T-shirts they received as tokens of thanks for registering as donors. Bradley was one of 19 stopping points on Gift of Hope’s 2014 Back to School Tour. registrations).

New to the Back to School Tour this year was the formation of a new Campus Task Force, composed of donor family members and Gift of Hope staff, to assist with staffing the college- and university-based events held across the state. Among the Task Force members were donor family members and highly active donation advocates Mike, Robyn and Hannah Deterding of White Heath, Ill., Vivian and Larry Lefferts of Bloomington, Ill., and Lori Chana of Clarendon Hills, Ill.

Community Affairs Events Target Donation Education, Donor Registration Through the work of its Community Affairs staff, Gift of Hope planned and participated in several summer and fall events aimed at educating African-Americans about organ and tissue donation and dispelling myths that may influence people’s decisions to register as donors.

In August, Gift of Hope partnered with several donation advocacy organizations for a Summer of Healthy Outcomes Back to School Health Fair. The event, held at Gary Comer Youth Center in Chicago’s Grand Crossing neighborhood, brought attention to National Minority Donor Awareness Week and the need for African-Americans to register as organ and tissue donors.

In September, Gift of Hope took part in the 17th Annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field to promote organ and tissue donation to the more than 35,000 people attending the game, most of whom came from Chicago’s African-American communities. Gift of Hope’s African-American Task Force hosted donor registration drives on the stadium concourse and registered more than 100 people as donors.

In October, Gift of Hope and its AATF partnered with the First Ladies Health Initiative to hold 11 donor registration drives at churches participating in the event. Nearly 300 people registered as donors at the event. A month later, in observance of National Donor Sabbath over the November 14 – 16 weekend, Gift of Hope distributed donation education materials and held donor registration drives at several churches, including Jordan Temple Methodist Baptist Church, where they celebrated life offered

through donation with Pastor Stephen E. Richardson, a multiple transplant recipient.

Secretary of State Jesse White and Congressman Danny Davis were among the dignitaries joining Gift of Hope President/CEO Kevin Cmunt, Community Affairs Director Jack Lynch and Community Affairs Manager Marion Shuck at the event.

Gift of Hope Community Affairs Manager Marion Shuck was among the many people who gathered in November to give Donate Life Rose Parade Float rider Kelvin Martin a rousing send-off for his trip to the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. Kelvin, a heart transplant recipient, will be one of 30 transplant recipients and donor family members riding on the float.

Gift of Hope’s capped off its busy fall by hosting a celebration to honor and recognize heart transplant recipient and Gift of Hope Advocates for Hope volunteer Kelvin Martin, who will be one of 30 transplant recipients and donor family members riding on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float in the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. Attendees at this event also had the opportunity to write a rose dedication with a personal message of love, hope and remembrance. The rose dedications are used to create the Dedication Garden, a featured design element on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, which honors millions of people touched by organ, eye and tissue donation.

Morgan D’Organ Offers High Fives to Save Lives Morgan D’Organ, Gift of Hope’s lovable liver mascot, amassed the miles over the summer and fall, traversing the highways and byways of Illinois and northwest Indiana to take part in nine events on the 2014 edition of the annual Morgan D’Organ Summer Tour to promote organ and tissue donation and donor registration. All in all, Morgan encouraged nearly 2,500 people to register as donors at those events.

The Grovefest in Downers Grove, Ill., was one of nine community events that Morgan D’Organ attended to raise awareness of donation on his 2014 Summer Tour.

During his many summer stops, he tasted the “best of the best” at Naperville’s Ribfest and Downer’s Grove’s Grovefest, sampled salsa at Chicago’s Fiesta del Sol, walked the donation walk at the Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago and felt the feeling of fall at St. Charles’ Scarecrow Festival and Highwood’s annual Pumpkin Festival.

Although Morgan enjoys taking part in fun and games and slurping barbecue sauce off those dirigible-size digits while on his annual tour, he’s always focused on his mission of building awareness of donation and encouraging people to register as lifesaving donors. Morgan’s mantra? “I’m all about high fives, registration drives and saving lives.”

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Danielle Bockman: Two Hearts, Forever Connected

John Kachanuk: A Gift Received, A Life Renewed

As Gift of Hope nears the end of a record-breaking year for making donation happen and bringing more organs and tissue to people in need than ever before, we reflect on the many lives we’ve been privileged to touch this year. There are so many stories to share. Of donors and donor family members who gave selflessly so that others may live. Of grateful organ and tissue transplant recipients who benefitted from those selfless acts. And of the thousands who continue to wait for the gift of hope — the gift of life — that will help them return to productive, healthy and meaningful lives. Here are three stories that illustrate the immeasurable good that comes from organ and tissue donation.

Alice Ho: Precious Gifts, For Many After Alice Ho suffered a massive brain hemorrhage that left her near death in April 2014, her family overseas asked her doctors at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center to keep her alive until they could make the long journey to her bedside. Doctors kept her on ventilator support for more than two days. Because Alice was a registered organ and tissue donor in Illinois, doctors also took steps to preserve her organ function. Following her death shortly after her family visited with her, seven patients received eight of her organs in separate transplant procedures.

“This eight-organ recovery helped to save the lives of seven people,” says Stacey Troha, Gift of Hope’s Donation Coordinator who serves Rush. “That was not just good donor management. That was amazing donor management.”

A 43-year-old Aurora resident, Alice awoke suddenly early on a Thursday morning in April. “She was unable to move the right side of her body and was having a very severe headache,” recalls her husband, Aaron Ho, who had known Alice since they were children.

Moments later, Alice lost consciousness. Aaron took her to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, Ill., where a CT scan identified the hemorrhage. From there, she was taken by helicopter to Rush University Medical Center.

The fluids and medications the care team used to reduce the swelling in Alice’s brain could have caused cardiovascular problems that would have imperiled her other organs. Her blood pressure and oxygen levels had to be maintained in a stable state to keep other organs from being harmed and to prevent her heart from stopping.

One big concern was the change the treatments caused in Alice’s electrolyte levels, which could have caused the heart to stop or the kidneys to fail. The care team brought those levels back down and took similar steps to maintain sustainable levels of other electrolytes.

“The donor organs were the key issue in this case,” Dr. John says. “If we hadn’t jumped on fixing things and correcting abnormalities, we would not have been able to maintain their viability.”

After a 15-hour flight, Alice’s family arrived in the NSICU two days after Alice suffered her hemorrhage. “They talked with her for a while,” Aaron recalls. “The doctors and nurses said they never know what you can and cannot hear and that hearing is the last thing to go. We were hoping she could hear what was said.”

Shortly afterwards, Alice was declared brain-dead. Even then, the Rush team, now working in collaboration with Gift of Hope’s organ recovery team to follow donor management protocols to maintain the opportunity for donation, continued ventilator support until transplant physicians surgically removed Alice’s heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys and intestine, which were matched with and transplanted into patients waiting for Alice’s lifesaving gifts at other hospitals.

“By the time she came in she was almost brain-dead,” Aaron says. “The pressure within the brain caused by the brain bleeding was so great that it was herniating.”

“It’s a rare circumstance that we ever see this many organs recovered,” says Stacey, Gift of Hope’s Donation Coordinator. “I’ve been at Gift of Hope for six years, and I’ve only seen an intestine recovery once. What a fantastic job by the whole NSICU team. Everyone’s help made Alice’s gifts available to so many people.”

When he learned the next day that Alice’s parents and brother were traveling from abroad to see her, Aaron asked Alice’s doctors to do everything they could to keep her alive until her family arrived. Because Alice was a registered donor, the care team at Rush’s Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSICU) monitored her closely and made care and treatment adjustments to maintain the viability of her organs.

In early July, Aaron received a thank-you letter from a 69-yearold woman who received one of Alice’s lungs. Before her transplant, she wrote, she couldn’t walk from her house to her garage and needed oxygen with her at all times. Since the transplant, she has been able to do many of the physical things she had wanted to do but couldn’t because of her condition.

“We had to strike a delicate balance,” says Sayona John, MD, the neurointensivist at Rush who oversaw Alice’s treatment.

“As I was reading the letter, I was crying a little,” Aaron says.

“I’m glad that Alice’s organs were able to help other people.”

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Danielle Bockman: Two Hearts, Forever Connected In March 2014, nine-month-old Danielle Bockman was battling a cold. To parents Dave and Susan Bockman, it appeared to be a common cold, but it quickly progressed to rapid breathing, a fast heart rate and pale color. Danielle’s pediatrician ordered an echocardiogram that revealed an enlarged heart pumping at just 15 percent of its normal rate. Her parents were shocked because their daughter had been such a healthy baby since birth.

Danielle was transferred directly from the Outpatient Testing Department at St. Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Ill., to the Emergency Department. Doctors there determined she needed specialized pediatric cardiac care, so Danielle was rushed by ambulance to Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

“Her status declined during the trip to Lurie Children’s Hospital, and by the time of arrival Danielle’s arms and legs were dusky and mottled,” recalls Susan. “She was breathing rapidly and perspiring profusely. Doctors explained that for her safety it was imperative to take as much work off her heart as possible. Within an hour, she was sedated and placed on a mechanical ventilator, and she received several medications to ease the workload on her heart.”

Lab work done at Lurie revealed the presence of parvovirus in Danielle’s blood, a condition known as Fifth Disease, and she was diagnosed with acute viral myocarditis — a damaged heart resulting from a viral infection. Dave and Susan were told that Danielle would have a 30 percent chance of heart recovery. Over the next few weeks repeat echocardiograms revealed no evidence of heart recovery, and each time an attempt was made to decrease Danielle’s medical support she became unstable.

Dave and Susan, along with grandparents and other family members, shed many tears when they learned Danielle’s only hope for life was a heart transplant.

Danielle was placed on the transplant waiting list on April 3, 2014. Her parents felt desperate as they waited day after day for “the call” to come. “We used social media to promote organ donation and asked for many prayers,” Susan says. “We had moments of feeling hopeful, desperate and completely out of control. The most challenging moments were when Danielle was medically unstable. Dave and I cried at her bedside and prayed her heart would come soon.”

On the morning of May 13, their prayers were answered when a phone call from Danielle’s cardiologist roused Susan from

sleep. They had a heart for Danielle. Dave and Susan rushed to the hospital where they were greeted with hugs and smiles from the staff. Excitement was in the air on the cardiac intensive care unit, and transplant surgery was scheduled for noon.

A team from Gift of Hope recovered the heart from the young donor, and it was placed in Danielle’s tiny chest.

The transplant surgery was a success, and Danielle began a lengthy recovery at Lurie. Today, Dave and Susan are dedicated to making her life as normal as possible. With a new heart, Danielle is expected to have a great quality of life and have the ability to go to school, participate in gym class and sports activities and go to college, just like any other person. But there’s also a good chance that she will need another heart transplant in the future.

For now, though, Dave, Susan and their family members are content with taking one day at a time and dealing with all the challenges the best way possible when they arise. And never far from their thoughts are the young child who offered the gift of life to Danielle and the gracious parents who experienced the tragedy of losing a precious loved one. Dave and Susan expressed their thoughts and feeling in this note channeled to the donor’s parents through Gift of Hope’s Donor Family Services Department. Along with the note they sent a necklace and pendant with a particularly special meaning. It has two tiny hearts, forever connected:

To the Lovely Family Who Helped

Our Baby:

We think of you every day and lifesaving decision. Our daugh are grateful for your ter on March 11th when a virus att was nine months old common cold led to her heart’s acked her heart. Just a doctors explained that her only destruction. We cried as chance of life was to undergo a heart transplant.

Our baby was in a coma for the majority of her wait. She looked awful. Her color was dusky, and we didn’t know if she would live or die.

Every day we cried and pra yed that she would get a don or heart. On May 13th, our wish came true. You answered our prayers and donated a gift of new heart, she improved rapidlylife to our baby girl. With her discharged from the hospita , and on June 4th she was l.

Today, she plays and laughs.

Her evidence of her unhealthy pas chest scar is the only t. From one mother to anothe I am sorry you lost your baby. r, I pra day our daughter got her hea yed for your baby the rt you, and I prayed, and we car transplant. I felt sorrow for ed about you and your baby.

I want you to know that.

We are so thankful to you. We would like you to accept a special necklace. Hoping whe n you feel the heart in your hands you feel closer to your own baby. We also hope you feel our thanks for saving our daughter’s life.

Love, Susan and Dave Bockman

John Kachanuk: A Gift Received, A Life Renewed John Kachanuk, a firefighter from Havana, Ill., and a tissue transplant recipient, is very clear on his life situation. “I am here today because someone gave me a gift that can only be given once, and it cannot be taken back,” he explains.

“It was a gift I did not know I had received until days after I received it, and it was a gift that totally changed my life. That gift was tissue donation.”

Kachanuk (shown above right with son Sam) had always have been a person who liked physical activity. Running, yard work and renovating his home were among his favorites. But weightlifting had been at the top of his list for many years.

“I was into lifting heavy, heavy weight,” he explains. “My job as a firefighter required that I stay strong, and that was easy because I enjoyed lifting.”

In June 2002, John was doing a back workout, deadlifts to be exact. The props were a long steel bar with three cast iron plates on each end. Total weight: 275 pounds. “Picture the axle of large truck, and you have an idea of what I’m describing,” John says. The weight was tremendous, and he struggled to finish the routine.

Instead, it finished him. For the time being.

Many years and doctor visits later, John learned that spinal fusion surgery was the only option to regain his health. In the months before his surgery, his doctor asked what he expected from it. “My reply was to be able to continue as a firefighter, run again and get back into weightlifting. He told me to scratch those off the list because my life was going to change.”

John was crushed and wondered if he really wanted to have the back surgery, but ultimately he had to because the pain began running his life. “It had taken over. I was not myself. I was grumpy, snapped at those who tried to help me, didn’t want to do anything and was always searching for a way to be comfortable and not move.”

Fast forward to December 2012. In the fire department, there’s no better training than a live fire burn, according to John. A firefighter’s dream, he says, is to light a building on fire, and then put it out. “My son Sam, who is about to graduate with

his fire science degree, is also a member of my fire department,” John says. “In December of 2012, he was set to enter his first burning building with me. A father and son duo.

This was to be Sam’s first fire and my last one because I was headed for the operating room in early 2013. The doctor advised me to enjoy this experience because it would be my last. I felt bittersweet to say the least.”

In February 2013, John was home recovering from successful spinal fusion back surgery. His doctor had told him what to expect in terms of his recovery and that he eventually would heal. “He mentioned ‘cadaveric tissue’ in our conversations, but I never pressed him on what it was or how it was going to heal me.”

John eventually started going through a packet of information he received at the hospital. He stumbled upon a small card that stated he was the recipient of a tissue donation from a deceased donor. “I was so amazed. I had someone else’s tissue inside of me. Someone who had died and became a donor.

That was never explained to me. Or at least I never understood it. I read that you could send a letter to the donor family through AlloSource (Gift of Hope’s tissue processing partner).

So I did, and it made me realize I had work to do. I thanked the family for their donation and promised to get back on my feet and to get my life back and live it the way I wanted to.”

And live it in a way that showed deep respect for the generous gift he received from a selfless donor, he adds.

When John started physical therapy, he couldn’t bend at the waist more than four degrees. Picture a clock hand moving from 12 to just short of 11. Any hope of getting his life back was hard for John to imagine. But soon, thanks to an aggressive physical therapist, he started to get his strength back.

In summer 2013, John was out walking when a little voice inside spoke to him: “It said, ‘Try running.’ It was almost like something pushed me from behind, so I did.”

Physical gains continued, and in summer 2014 John competed in his first triathlon. “I have lost over 50 pounds and continue to run two to three times a week and work out the same number of times. And I have begun classes to become a personal trainer so I can pay it forward to others so to speak.”

This is all possible, John says, because someone signed up to offer the ultimate gift, and he received it. “I can never thank the donor and family enough, but I can honor their loved one by sharing my story, speaking to groups and helping to get the word out about the importance of donation. I have a renewed sense of purpose thanks to the gift I received. I can be the father, friend, firefighter and future personal trainer that I want to be and continue making a difference in my own life and the lives of others.”

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HOSPITAL PERFORMANCE METRICS* Gift of Hope works in partnership with 180 hospitals and nine transplant centers to meet the ever-growing demand for donor organs and fulfill the organization’s vision — that every opportunity for organ and tissue donation is successful. Here’s a look at key donation performance metrics for Illinois and northwest Indiana hospitals and the contributions these hospitals are making to give hope and life to others.

Hospital

Organ Donors

Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital Adventist GlenOaks Hospital Adventist Hinsdale Hospital Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital Advocate BroMenn Medical Center Advocate Christ Medical Center Advocate Condell Medical Center Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Advocate Sherman Hospital Advocate South Suburban Hospital Advocate Trinity Hospital Alexian Brothers Medical Center Blessing Hospital Carle Foundation Hospital Centegra Hospital: McHenry Centegra Hospital: Woodstock Central DuPage Hospital Community Hospital of Munster Copley Memorial Hospital Decatur Memorial Hospital Delnor Hospital Edward Hospital Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Evanston Hospital Franciscan Healthcare: Munster Franciscan St. Anthony Health Franciscan St. James: Chicago Heights Franciscan St. James: Olympia Fields Franciscan St. Margaret Health: Dyer Franciscan St. Margaret Health: Hammond Freeport Memorial Hospital Galesburg Cottage Hospital Genesis Medical Center: Illini Campus Glenbrook Hospital Gottlieb Memorial Hospital Highland Park Hospital Hillsboro Area Hospital

2 0 2 3 2 21 3 7 0 6 11 3 0 0 2 6 11 2 0 3 3 3 4 0 1 1 5 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 0

Donation Conversion Rate 100 NA 50 100 50 69 67 67 0 78 65 71 67 100 43 100 75 67 0 50 75 100 83 0 33 50 75 NA 67 0 50 NA 100 NA 100 100 50 100 NA NA

Donation Authorization Rate 100 NA 67 100 50 68 86 78 N/A 71 65 100 67 100 43 100 76 80 NA 50 75 100 83 0 40 50 57 NA 67 0 100 NA 100 NA N/A 100 0 100 NA NA

*Through 11/30/14. Note: Data subject to change due to Gift of Hope’s quality assurance process.

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Connections - Hospital Performance Metrics

Timely Notification Rate 100 NA 75 100 100 97 100 100 33 91 95 100 100 100 100 100 90 100 NA 100 100 100 85 50 83 83 100 NA 100 25 50 NA 100 NA 100 100 100 100 NA NA

Hospital

Organ Donors

Hines VA Hospital 0 Holy Cross Hospital 2 Ingalls Hospital 1 Iroquois Memorial Hospital 0 Jackson Park Hospital 0 Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital 0 Kindred Hospital: Chicago Central 0 Kindred Hospital: Chicago North 0 Kindred Hospital: Northwest Indiana 0 Kindred Hospital: Peoria 0 Kindred Hospital: Sycamore 0 Kishwaukee Community Hospital 1 LaRabida Children’s Memorial 0 Little Company of Mary Hospital & Health Care 0 Loretto Hospital 0 Loyola University Medical Center 9 Lurie Children’s Hospital 0 MacNeal Memorial Hospital 4 Memorial Medical Center 9 Mercy Hospital and Medical Center 1 Methodist Hospital: Northlake 3 Methodist Hospital: Southlake 4 Metro South Medical Center 1 Morris Hospital 0 Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center 9 Northwest Community Healthcare 8 Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital 0 Northwestern Memorial Hospital 11 Norwegian American Hospital 1 OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center 3 OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center 0 OSF Saint Francis Medical Center 24 OSF St. Joseph Medical Center 1 OSF St. Mary Medical Center 0 Palos Community Hospital 2 Passavant Memorial Area Hospital 1 Pekin Memorial Hospital 0 Presence Covenant Medical Center 2 Presence Holy Family Medical Center 0 Presence Mercy Medical Center 1 Presence Our Lady of the Resurrection 2 Presence Resurrection Medical Center 2 Presence Saints Mary & Elizabeth Med. Center 0 Presence St. Francis Hospital 1 Presence St. Joseph Hospital: Chicago 1 Presence St. Joseph Hospital: Elgin 4 Presence St. Joseph Medical Center 6 Presence St. Mary’s Hospital of Kankakee 1

Donation Conversion Rate NA 100 33 100 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 50 NA 0 NA 52 0 67 71 50 57 50 100 100 58 69 NA 67 100 43 NA 66 50 NA 100 100 NA 50 NA 50 50 60 NA 25 100 62 62 50

Donation Authorization Rate NA 100 40 100 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 100 NA NA NA 50 0 62 67 100 57 80 100 100 61 70 NA 80 100 60 NA 67 100 NA 100 NA NA 50 NA 50 50 67 NA 100 100 62 70 NA

Timely Notification Rate NA 100 83 100 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 50 NA 100 NA 93 100 100 100 100 100 81 100 100 100 92 NA 90 100 88 NA 86 100 NA 66 100 NA 75 NA 100 100 71 100 100 100 100 92 100

Connections - Hospital Performance Metrics

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HOSPITAL PERFORMANCE METRICS

Hospital

Donation Conversion Rate

Organ Donors

Presence United Samaritans Medical Center Richland Memorial Hospital Riverside Medical Center Rockford Memorial Hospital Rush Oak Park Hospital Rush University Medical Center Saint Anthony Hospital Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Silver Cross Hospital Skokie Hospital South Shore Hospital St. Alexius Medical Center St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center St. Catherine Hospital St. John’s Hospital St. Mary Medical Center St. Mary’s Hospital: Decatur St. Mary’s Hospital: Streator Stroger Hospital of Cook County Swedish Covenant Hospital Taylorville Memorial Hospital Thorek Hospital and Medical Center Unity Point Health: Methodist Unity Point Health: Trinity Unity Point Health: Proctor University of Chicago Medicine University of Illinois Hospital Vibra Hospital: Northwestern Indiana Vibra Hospital: Springfield Vista Medical Center: East Weiss Memorial Hospital West Suburban Medical Center Westlake Hospital Total

0 0 1 16 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 10 1 0 0 8 3 0 0 1 1 0 13 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 303

NA NA 67 89 NA 52 NA NA 60 NA NA 67 NA 100 60 71 100 NA NA 50 100 NA NA 100 67 NA 50 69 79 NA NA NA NA 0 65%

Donation Authorization Rate NA NA 67 88 NA 58 NA NA 50 NA NA 100 NA 100 50 75 100 NA NA 67 100 NA NA 100 100 NA 59 67 82 NA NA NA NA 0 69%

Timely Notification Rate NA NA 75 100 NA 96 NA NA 100 NA NA 85 NA 100 100 94 75 NA NA 93 100 NA NA 100 100 NA 80 89 100 NA NA 50 50 100 91%

Glossary of Terms Organ Donors Donors from whom one or more organs were recovered for the purpose of transplantation. This includes both donation after brain death, or DBD, donors and donation after circulatory death, or DCD, donors.

Donation Authorization Rate The rate at which authorization for donation is obtained, expressed as a percentage.

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Connections - Hospital Performance Metrics

Donation Conversion Rate The rate at which potential donors are converted to actual donors, expressed as a percentage.

Timely Notification Rate The rate at which hospitals contact Gift of Hope after a death or within one hour after an individual meets the criteria for imminent death and before the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies, expressed as a percentage.

STATE OF DONATION

2014 *

2013 *

% Change

Organ Donors

302

292

+3.42%

Organs Transplanted

914

836

+9.33%

Organs Per Donor

3.03

2.86

+5.71%

Tissue Donors

1737

1,327

+30.90%

Bone Donors **

1,215

845

+43.79%

Heart Valves Recovered **

191

190

+0.53%

Skin Donors **

1,247

1,014

+22.98%

5,275* in Illinois

123,851* in U.S.

1,469* in Indiana

*Through November 30 **Subset of Tissue Donors

The number of patients waiting for heart, liver, kidney, lung, pancreas or small bowel transplants as of November 30, 2014.

Illinois Organ & Tissue Donor Registry

5,673,457

* Based on data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

As of November, 30 2014

56% 300 18 Of adults (18 or older) in Illinois are registered as organ and tissue donors.

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Every 10 minutes, a new person is added to the national transplant waiting list.

In 2013, more than 300 people registered for transplants in Illinois died while waiting.

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One donor can save or enhance the lives of more than 25 people.

An average of 18 people die each day while waiting for a transplant.

Make a Difference!

REGISTER TO BE AN ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR

GiftofHope.org

Connections - State of Donation

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Indicia here 425 Spring Lake Drive Itasca, IL 60143

Register to Be an Organ and Tissue Donor at GiftofHope.org

A Donate Life Organization

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Kelvin Martin: 2015 Rose Parade Float Rider Heart recipient and Advocates for Hope volunteer Kelvin Martin will be Gift of Hope’s 2015 Donate Life Rose Parade float rider and will tell “The Never-Ending Story” of donation as one of 30 people from across the U.S riding on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float on New Year’s Day. Diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2005 at age 25, Kelvin survived three heart attacks and lived for three years on an LVAD before receiving a heart transplant in January 2014. Visit GiftofHope.org to learn more about Kelvin and tune in to the Rose Parade at 8 a.m. PST Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015.

Calendar of Events January 1 Tournament of Roses Parade Donate Life Rose Parade Float January 24 Advocates for Hope Orientation Chicago February 7 Advocates for Hope Orientation Springfield, Ill. February 21 Advocates for Hope Orientation Itasca, Ill.

March 7 Advocates Summit: Tools for Telling the Donation Story Itasca, Ill.

May 5 Mission of Hope and Life: Funeral Directors Seminar Springfield, Ill.

March 19 Gift of Hope Springfield Office Open House Springfield, Ill.

May 23 Advocates for Hope Orientation Urbana-Champaign, Ill.

March 21 Advocates for Hope Orientation Rockford, Ill.

September 26 Advocates Summit: Tools for Telling the Donation Story Springfield, Ill.

April 1 National Donate Life Month

For more information on these and other events, visit GiftofHope.org.