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Issue No. 50
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Tournament of Roses float’s theme focuses on organ donation’s impact Three families share special life-giving bond by Kristina Gabalski Three local families will be part of the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day. Laurie LoMonaco of Brockport, Mary Guyette and Gates Orlando will represent the many organ donors and recipients from upstate New York while riding on or walking with the Donate Life Rose Parade float. A special send-off celebration hosted by the Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network (FLDRN) and UR Medicine’s Solid Organ Transplant Programs was held Monday, December 8 at Strong Memorial Hospital for the three families who share a very special and remarkable bond. In January 2013, Laurie LoMonaco became a living donor, giving one of her
kidneys altruistically through the UR Medicine Transplant Program. She remembers it was difficult for her to share her decision with family and friends, but when she shared her intentions with best friends Mary and Paul Guyette, Paul was very impressed by her decision and deeply moved. “It sparked an interest in him,” Mary tells the Suburban News/The Herald. “He thought she was a hero. He was in awe of her decision.” “To Paul I was a hero,” Laurie said during the send-off celebration December 8, but noted it was Paul who “... became a bigger hero for so many.” Paul unexpectedly became that hero through a remarkable series of events. Only ten days after Laurie underwent surgery to donate her kidney, Paul was stricken with a fatal intracranial brain hemorrhage on February 3, 2013.
Laurie LoMonaco, living kidney donor, Gates Orlando, heart transplant recipient, and Mary Guyette, wife of deceased donor Paul Guyette, whose heart Gates received. His wife Mary said she was in shock and uncertain what to do when approached about donating Paul’s organs. Then she remembered how Laurie’s selfless gift had inspired Paul. He had spoken with his father about his interest in becoming an organ donor and Mary
The Rose Bowl Parade float will feature butterflies emerging from storybooks to symbolize the enduring power of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. A florograph of Paul Guyette is included in the float design.
decided to give her consent for Paul’s organs to be donated. When she returned home after her husband’s death, Mary explained to their nine and eleven year old daughters about her decision to donate Paul’s organs. “Oh my God, Mommy,” her 11-year old daughter said, “he’d be so happy.” “That was my answer,” Mary explains, “I felt at peace.” Laurie was able to visit Paul in the hospital before he died. “It was he who had been the hero all along,” she said. Paul’s liver and kidneys saved the lives of three middle-aged men. His saphenous veins were used in vascular graphs for two patients having coronary artery bypass surgery, and his corneas have restored sight for two individuals. Paul’s heart was given to Gates Orlando, a retired NHL player with the Buffalo Sabres as well as the Rochester Amerks. Gates was at Strong and had been there waiting for a heart for ten months. He had been kept alive during that time with a total artificial heart - the first person in upstate New York to receive one. Both the donor and recipient were in the same city, the same hospital, and were perfect matches. Paul was a big sports fan, including the Sabres, and Mary says the family is proud the gift of life makes it possible for Gates to live a full life and advocate for more people to join the organ donor registry.
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