Darlene Aymerich

Darlene (r) with Vickie

Darlene is a donor mom and living donor. She gave a kidney to her brother in 1993. Two-and-a-half years later, her daughter Shannon became a donor following an auto accident. Shannon's kidney recipient Vickie Keidel has become like an extended family member.

Shannon

Darlene's Story

I am a donor mom and a living donor. I gave a kidney to my older brother in December 1993. At that time I talked with my two children about organ donation, and my daughter Shannon said to me, “I’m so proud of you, Mom, for doing this for Uncle Johnny. I hope someday I can be an organ donor and save lives, too.” Unfortunately, my brother had some complications with a bowel obstruction and we lost him about six months after the transplant.

Two-and-a-half years later, on October 27, 1996, I received a phone call from the State Police that every parent dreads. They said that my daughter Shannon and been involved in a serious car accident and I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

When I arrived at the hospital Shannon was in surgery. I waited in the ICU waiting room for what seemed like forever. When they did finally brought her up and I was allowed to see her, she was attached to a ventilator to help her breathe and had several IV lines and a heart monitor attached to her.

Shannon was not wearing her seat belt when her accident happened and she was ejected from her pickup truck out the back window. She suffered a lacerated liver, ruptured spleen and head trauma. They did the testing for brain activity twice, six hours apart and both times the results were the same. Shannon had no brain activity and she was declared brain dead. This was a mother’s worst nightmare. I always looked forward to planning my daughter’s wedding; I never thought about planning her funeral. She was not only my daughter, she was my best friend.

When approached about organ donation, I remembered the talk we had when I donated a kidney to my brother and Shannon saying she, too, would like to save lives through organ donation. That’s exactly what she did. Shannon became an organ, tissue and eye donor. I was one of the fortunate families. I had that important discussion with my children about organ donation, so I knew what Shannon wanted.

I had the opportunity to meet one of the recipients of Shannon’s kidneys. We wrote back and forth for about two years, and then we met. What a wonderful feeling to know that this woman’s life went on, as did Shannon’s legacy, by her donation of the “Gift of Life.” Vickie and I have become good friends, and she is an extended member of my family. We both live and work in Western New York, so we have the opportunity to get together quite frequently. In fact, our paths cross at work a lot, as I’m a family support counselor and community educator for the UNYTS organ procurement organization, and Vickie works for the local kidney foundation. We have together shared our stories with the public many times.

I feel very blessed having Vickie in my life. I believe that Shannon is watching over us and is proud to know that even after her death the recipient of one of her kidneys and her mom are working together to save more lives and educate and help people. I truly believe that organ donation is the most beautiful gift anyone can give.