John Babbitt and Christine Ho each shared their stories of hope at the Franciscan Health Crown Point Donate Life Celebration.
The Donor Remembrance Celebration, held on Tuesday in St. Joseph Chapel, included opening comments by Raymond Grady, president and CEO at Franciscan Health Crown Point.
“Thank all of you as we gather to recognize and honor those who saved lives,” Grady said.
Babbitt, the recipient of a kidney transplant on Feb. 11, 2016, said he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in 2013.
Always a healthy and active person, the diagnosis had a major impact on him since it meant the loss of both kidneys and having to undergo kidney dialysis treatments.
“It was difficult for me to do but I had faith in God that he would have me covered,” Babbitt said.
Babbitt, a former Chicago resident who worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation and now lives in Dyer, said he and his wife prayed nonstop for three years, and they finally found a donor.
Unfortunately, that donor’s blood wasn’t a good match for Babbitt but fortunately, another donor came forward who was a match.
Babbitt, who is now retired, directed his comments to those in attendance who may be undergoing health issues: “There’s hope for you. Never give up. Always be encouraged. Always keep your head up.”
He encouraged everyone to sign up to become an organ donor because of the great impact it can make on so many lives.
“Most people don’t understand what you go through. An organ donation, it changes your life,” Babbitt said.
He said he and his wife have stayed in touch with his organ donor, and they have become like family.
“When I meet other donors or recipients, it’s like we have an instant bond. It’s like ‘Oh, you understand my story,’ and it’s like instant bonding,” Babbitt said.
Christine Ho, a former Chicago resident who now lives in St. John, said her late husband, a former Chicago police officer named Jonathan Ho, donated his kidneys, liver and cornea upon his death.
She said her husband was riding his motorcycle home from a patrol shift in the summer of 2015 and was planning on picking up his 10-year-old daughter from school and then meeting his 12-year-old son at home.
Her 35-year-old husband never made it but was instead struck by a 62-year-old man, who had never received a driver’s license, driving his SUV in a busy intersection.
Ho said she remembers receiving a phone call at work and the police officer on the line telling her that a squad car would be coming to take her to the hospital and that her husband had been in a serious accident.
She said her husband didn’t survive his injuries, and she still recalls at that time thinking about how she was going to tell her 10- and 12-year-old children that their father was dead.
It was at the hospital, and upon meeting with a Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network specialist, that she learned her husband was registered as an organ donor.
“I remember them coming to me and asking me if he was an organ donor,” Ho recalls.
She said her two children, who became organ donor supporters, got the chance to meet with the three donor recipients and engage with activities through the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network.
The recipients have also become like family members to her and her children.
“It really helps knowing that you are not alone,” Ho said.
Other speakers at the Remembrance Celebration included Lauren O’Day, Donation Coordinator Development for Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network; Amanda Hawkins, Professional Services/Aftercare Coordinator for Vision First Indiana Lions Eye Bank; and Melissa Meyer, director of hospital development, Life Line Stem Cell.
To learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation and to register, go to DonateLife.net.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
