When I was six-years-old I received an amazing gift that I am grateful for everyday. My dad was mowing our yard on a tractor mower and I was sitting on his lap when an object thrown by the mower blade hit my eye. I truly don't remember much detail from the accident, except that I was scared and my parents were very upset.

I was rushed to the hospital and the doctors discovered my eye was shattered. During the weeks I was in the hospital I had 16 surgeries, but ultimately they told my parents I would need a cornea transplant to prevent me from being blind. Against all odds, a donor cornea became available in time to give me the gift of sight Now that I am older, I understand more about the severity of my accident and grow even more thankful for my gift and how very lucky I was to have a donor. I can never thank my donor’s family enough for the gift they gave me. They lost a child, but through their tragedy and in spite of their terrible loss, they made a decision that would help someone else. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the gift I received and I think and pray for them all the time.

When your life has been touched by something like this, you don’t take simple things for granted. I enjoy seeing the sun rise, watching clouds cross the sky, and the color of the flowers in the garden. Soon I will get my driver license, something that would not have been possible without the gift of sight!

The older I get the more I want to share and learn about organ, eye and tissue donation. You may think it’s not important or it’s hard to talk about – but it’s so important, and not only to donate just organs like the heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. Because of my accident I know first-hand that tissue and corneas change people’s lives in wonderful ways too. If you look up the word hero in the dictionary the meaning is: a brave or good person. It should read ORGAN, EYE AND TISSUE DONOR.