EGAN: Transplant hopefuls salute decision to donate teen’s organs

Ottawa Citizen | Kathy Egan
Fred Rutledge says that not all is rosy in the transplant world. Photograph by: Jean Levac , Ottawa Citizen/Postmedia News

OTTAWA â€" They praise her yet, this Rowan Stringer, and shall for a long time. At 17, she gave so much of herself. She gave, in the end, all she had.

Fred Rutledge is stretched out in a reclining chair at his home in Alta Vista, 66 years old, quite ill with liver disease, probably 60 pounds lighter than his prosperous peak three or four years ago.

When he stands up, he’s so thin, his jeans look as though they might head south at any second.

“When I get past looking at the tragedy of her passing, I think ‘what a wondrous gift to save the lives of other people,’” Rutledge said Tuesday.

“What better legacy could you have?”

Inspired by her selfless nature, Rowan’s family decided to donate most of her organs for transplantation after she suffered a traumatic brain injury while playing high school rugby last week.
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______________________________________________________ 
"You have the power to SAVE lives." 
To register as a donor in California: 
www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org | www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org 
Outside California: 
www.organdonor.gov | www.donatelife.net

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