Donors' kin remember the gifts of life
Times Union | Bryan Fitzgerald
Members of the New York State Police Troop G Honor Guard post the colors at the start of Reflections of Love, Donor Memorial Service at the Desmond Hotel on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012 in Colonie, NY. The service was put on by the Sight Society of Northeastern New York and the Lion's Bank at Albany and was held to pay tribute to those who have given the gift of life and sight through organ donation. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)
COLONIE â€" It was a slow, somber procession of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.
Relatives of about 60 people who this past year donated their organs, eyes or tissues for transplants after their death were presented with the New York State Medal of Honor Sunday afternoon. Many teared up when they saw their loved one's faces splashed across the blue screen of a digital projector. Some of the donors died as recently as this summer. Some were as young as 5.
Those in attendance at the Sight Society of Northeastern New York's annual Donor Memorial Service at The Desmond are still grappling with their loss. For many, knowing a part of their relative still lives in someone else brings comfort. That's why Vicki Crosier chose to donate her son's kidneys and corneas 32 years ago.
"That's the only reason I did it," said Crosier, a guest speaker at the memorial who also received a special award for her donor activism. "I wanted a part of him to live on."
In 1980, her son, Kyle, was driving home from work when his car was rear-ended in front of the driveway of their Berne home. He was ejected from the car and died that day. He was 17.
Read more
{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}
Members of the New York State Police Troop G Honor Guard post the colors at the start of Reflections of Love, Donor Memorial Service at the Desmond Hotel on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012 in Colonie, NY. The service was put on by the Sight Society of Northeastern New York and the Lion's Bank at Albany and was held to pay tribute to those who have given the gift of life and sight through organ donation. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)
COLONIE â€" It was a slow, somber procession of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.
Relatives of about 60 people who this past year donated their organs, eyes or tissues for transplants after their death were presented with the New York State Medal of Honor Sunday afternoon. Many teared up when they saw their loved one's faces splashed across the blue screen of a digital projector. Some of the donors died as recently as this summer. Some were as young as 5.
Those in attendance at the Sight Society of Northeastern New York's annual Donor Memorial Service at The Desmond are still grappling with their loss. For many, knowing a part of their relative still lives in someone else brings comfort. That's why Vicki Crosier chose to donate her son's kidneys and corneas 32 years ago.
"That's the only reason I did it," said Crosier, a guest speaker at the memorial who also received a special award for her donor activism. "I wanted a part of him to live on."
In 1980, her son, Kyle, was driving home from work when his car was rear-ended in front of the driveway of their Berne home. He was ejected from the car and died that day. He was 17.
Read more
{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}
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