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Hello! My name is Mary Hill. On February 5,1994, my life completely changed.
It was a Saturday morning. I got up, as usual, to go to work for a half a day. My children were usually up to say good bye, but that morning they decided to sleep in. So I just went to their bedroom doors to peek at them before I left.
If only I had known...that it was going to be the last time I would see Kendra alive.
She was lying in bed-all wild; she was a wild sleeper. I just stood at her doorway and smiled at the way her body was lying in her bed. She looked so peaceful.
I told them the night before that I had a surprise for them when I got home. They were to be dressed and ready to go. I was taking them on a family outing to the movies.
Well, all of that changed about 9:40am. There was a call at my job. My supervisor asked me if I knew where a young man lived. I said, "Yes, right down the road from my house." He said, "Will you show me?" I said, "Sure," not knowing at the time that my children had been in a car accident.
When we got down the road from work, he told me that there had been an accident. He didn't know if it was anyone in my family or not, but if it was, we would deal with it.
When I got to the accident site, I saw my brother walking towards me. There were so many people there. He said, "Taneka and Glenn Dale are okay." I said, "Where is Kendra?" By that time, I saw the car and I began to scream. My knees got weak and I began to cry. I wanted to see Kendra. "Where is she?"
He told me it didn't look good. They would not let me see her because they were working on her. The Paramedic told me told go to the hostipal and sign the paperwork for her to be treated.
At the hospital, I was going crazy because all three of my babies were there. I was running from one room to another. I was praying that all of them would be okay. Soon after that, Taneka and Glenn Dale were released with just scrapes and bruises.
Kendra, on the other hand, was not out of the woods yet. They finally gave me a chance to see her.
The doctor told me that she was not breathing on her own and they were calling the Medical University of South Carolina. Then she was air lifted to MUSC. They would not let me ride on the helicopter...but I wanted to go with her.
By the time I got to Charleston, they said they were doing everything they could for her. It did not look good. They were going to do some tests to see if she would respond. Well, she didn't! The doctors told me that she was Brain Dead. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I wanted Kendra to wake up and talk to me. I could not think about losing my oldest child; she had to be okay!
The doctors waited twelve hours and repeated the test. The results were the same. My baby just slipped away from me. I prayed so hard for her to wake up but God had other plans for her.
While we waited for the time to pass, there was a little boy who came into the intensive care unit. He was in the bed next to Kendra...his name was Bubba. His mother was all alone so I started talking to her. I had a lot of family support.
By law, we had to wait twelve hours before they could legally pronounce Kendra as Brain Dead. We found out that Bubba needed a liver or he only had 15% chance of living. Glenn Sr. came to me and asked if I thought Kendra's liver would be a match for Bubba. At that time, I did not know anything about donation.
As I sat beside Kendra's bed crying and still praying for her to wake up, a voice spoke to me saying "LET YOUR WILL BE DONE." I looked around and said, "Okay, God, I'll let Your will be done. I can't promise You that I won't cry or miss her or that my heart won't ache because I know all these things will happen. Just, PLEASE, LORD DON'T LET HER FEEL ANY PAIN," because she hated pain.
I went back to Glenn Sr. and asked him if he was ready to talk to the Procurement Agency. He didn't know what I was talking about. I reminded him of what he had said to me about donating Kendra's organs. I believe to this day that God used him as a vessel to bring Organ Donation to our attention. I didn't know that the Agency had tried to contact me. Nor did I know that my brother would not let them speak to me. But thanks to the Good Master, He worked it all out. We asked to speak to the Agency and told them what we wanted to donate.
Kendra was such a giving person...always wanting to help others. I knew that she would be very proud of her parents for making this great decision. Not knowing that this would change my life forever.
I am a volunteer for the Agency now. I go out and speak, attend health fairs...anything they need me to do.
Because of Kendra, so many people have signed donor cards. Her story changed the way people think about Organ Donation. Through her, I have met the most wonderful people. We all can relate because we've all been in the same situtation. We have a bond that will never be broken. We gain strength from each other.
My whole life has changed for the better. If I had not made the choice to donate, I don't think I would have healed. It makes the pain easier to bear...knowing that she made a difference in someone else's life. I know she is smiling all over HEAVEN now, saying...'thats my mom and I'm proud of her.'
KENDRA, I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER. KEEP SMILING AND DANCING UP THERE!!!!!
Donor Moms, thank you for helping me through the tough times. This is the first time that I have attempted to share this much of my story and it is all because of the Faith you have in me. I love you all.
From the heart of Mary Hill
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