Riley Gottshall, Liver Recipient

My name is Riley and in June of 2005 something decided to attack and destroy my liver. On June 25, 2005 I had to have a liver transplant in order to survive. Being only 4 years old, I didn't quite understand what it all meant; I just knew that I was in a lot of pain. Once I received the "new" liver, I started feeling better almost immediately. When my mom and dad told me how the "new" liver came to be, I cried along with them. We prayed for the family of the person who died and praised God for allowing them to make the hardest choice possible, the choice that saved my life! I have been told and believe that this is what a true hero is and one day I know I will meet this Hero in heaven. It must be pretty hard on them, but someday I would like to personally thank them for giving me a second chance to live! I have had and will have many additional years and I truly believe I would not have had an additional week without their gift. Because of their gift I am expected to live a full and healthy life. If they could see me now and see how vibrant and happy and full of life I have become. If they could only see the wonderful gift of life that was received because of the decision that was made to "pass it on"; I know they would feel peace. If they could see what a difference it has made in my life, then maybe they could know that the decision they made at the hardest time in their life was the right decision. Thank you, donor and donor family! Before my liver became sick, my family didn't talk much about organ donatoin and therefore nobody would have known our wishes. Since the transplant, we try to be the voice to everyone we come in contact with so that they know how important it is to talk about it with those they love. Every person in my family is now an organ donor.

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