TRIO
Long Island Chapter PO Box 81 Garden City, NY 11530 www.litrio.org 516-942-4940
Our
annual ceremony honoring
donors and donor families is one of our most cherished events. The ceremony
honors those who have given others new life.
The Long Island TRIO Annual Rose Garden Ceremony
An event that honors those who have given life to others. By Cindy Springsteen
Legislator Judy Jacobs and LI TRIO President Michael Sosna, Credit Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs and The Long Island Chapter of Transplant Recipients International Organization
The Long Island TRIO Annual Rose Garden Ceremony honors donors and donor families, those who have given others a new life.
Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs attended the ceremony, which was hosted by The Long Island Chapter of Transplant Recipients International Organization. The event took place at Eisenhower Park Sept. 17, 2011.
Healthcare profressionals, members of Long Island TRIO, the NY Organ Donor Network, as well as organ and tissue recipients, and the donor families were the guest speakers at the ceremony.
Mike Sosna, president of LI TRIO welcomed and honored the donors and donor families as he explained that "LI TRIO is a non-profit all volunteer organization committed to improving the quality of lives touched by the miracle of transplantation through support, advocacy, education, and awareness. We keep in mind today that there are currently over 112,264 people waiting for the Gift Of Life.
" I find it concerning that more than 90% of Americans say they support organ donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to enroll in a Donor Registry, " he said.
Sosna continued: "The Donor Families made a decision to save lives at what could have been the most challenging and difficult time in their lives. As volunteers, we try to volunteer helping with The New York State Donor Registry in order to help spread the message and positive effect of The Gift Of Life. We try to do what we can to thank donor families in a sincere manner although we know that words are just not enough. As recipients, we try to also thank our heroes with deeds such as making a commitment to volunteering as much as we can and telling our story to others as a way of promoting the importance of saving lives with organ donation."
Jacobs' speech was one that also gave a personal touch of experience on transplants. "This is always such a moving and inspiring event and it is humbling to be in the presence of such outstanding individuals," she said.
"My brother in law is a kidney/liver transplant survivor. I had the honor of meeting two young girls. One, Lauren Shields is a heart transplant survivor and the other, Gillian Cohen, is a liver transplant survivor.
Legislator Judy Jacobs added that "Words cannot adequately thank the Donor Families for their compassion at such a difficult time, nor can words express the awe one feels for those who have triumphed to live fruitful lives following the transplant they so desperately needed."
To visit the Donor Rose Garden you can find it in Eisenhower Park, adjacent to the Women's Sports Pavilion Parking field 6/6A.
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Long Island Herald Article
Long Island TRIO's re-dedication of donor rose garden In Eisenhower Park
L.I. needs more organ donors
Local man waits, hopes for a new heart
By Shannon Koehle for the Long Island Herald
A Rose Garden rededication ceremony to honor Long Island organ donors took place last Saturday in Eisenhower Park.
Approximately 300 people turned out for the 16th annual ceremony — which years ago attracted just a handful of people.
"These donor families are unselfish in a time that is tragic," said Mike Sosna, president of the Long Island Transplant Recipient International Organization. Sosna became involved with TRIO after receiving a kidney from his father, and was named president of the organization in 2006.
"We're here today to honor donors and donor families who have given the gift of life," he said.
One 11-year-old recipient who attended the ceremony is actively trying to change lives. Lauren Shields, who spoke at the event, was infected with a virus that attacked her heart, said her mother, Jeanne. Lauren underwent a successful heart transplant in March 2009.
COURTESY LONG ISLAND TRIO
Lauren Shields, 11, is a heart recipient, and spoke at the Rose Garden Rededication on Saturday.
While Jeanne Shields said she is grateful that someone chose to donate their heart for her daughter to use, she added, "When you're on the other side and waiting, it can be the most helpless feeling in the world."
According to Sosna, 18 Americans die every day waiting for a donor organ, and 1,257 people had organ transplants in New York in 2010. Given those numbers,
Lauren and her mother decided to get involved in the effort to increase donor registration on Long Island.
New York state has among the fewest registered organ donors in the nation, said Sosna, and a main reason is that when residents are asked to enroll in the donor registry on the form at the Department of Motor Vehicles, a response is not required.
Now, the Shields family and TRIO are working to implement Lauren's Law. The legislation would require residents to state whether or not they want to be an organ donor.
Jeanne Shields explained that it is important to have the words "not at this time" on the form for those who choose not to participate rather than just "no," because otherwise doctors would not be allowed to ask their families about organ donation.
COURTESY LONG ISLAND TRIO Mike Sosna, Gillian Cohen and Lauren Shields give a rose to each donor family honored at LI TRIO's Donor Roise Garden Cremony
While the proposed law easily passed the State Senate's Transportation Committee in April 5, and was approved by the full Senate on Lauren's birthday, April 13, TRIO came up against unexpected opposition in the Assembly, and will return to the Legislature in a few months to try again.
Another important organ donation measure, signed into law nearly three years ago, enables New Yorkers to sign up to be organ donors online, Sosna said. But despite its approval, he added, the law has yet to be implemented.
COURTESY LONG ISLAND TRIO
Red and yellow roses were distributed to donor familiesat the Rose Garden Rededication.
Hundreds of New Yorkers are in need of organs, one of whom is East Meadow resident Jeff Whitman. Whitman was born in 1966 with a heart block and a murmur. Due to the relatively primitive technology of the time, doctors decided to simply monitor his condition.
Whitman, who moved to Connecticut and lived there until recently, received a pacemaker when he was 23, to stimulate his decreased heart rate. Years later, when his heart problems worsened, he received a biventricular device to improve his heart function.
During that procedure, doctors accidently perforated his heart, but they were unaware at the time that they had done so. For Whitman, the pain and chest pressure got worse as months passed. His doctors finally realized that his lungs and heart were filling with fluid and determined the cause. He was told he would need a heart transplant.
Whitman has nearly died a number of times, enduring heart rhythm problems that caused the device in his chest to shock him as it attempted to establish a normal rhythm, an infection of an implanted ventricular assist device, known as an LVAT, allergic reactions to medications and induced comas.
He was first placed on a transplant list in March 2009, when he received the LVAT, but he was removed the following year, when his wife was re-diagnosed with colon cancer. Prospective donors must have support at home in order to stay on the list. Last June, his wife died.
Living in a rehabilitation facility after another stint in the hospital, Whitman was looking for friendship and support when he reconnected with a former high school friend, Denise Tristano Pascalis.
"He needed a home and support to get back on the list," said Pascalis. She opened her arms and her home to him.
Two weeks ago, East Meadow residents welcomed Whitman home with a gathering at Miller's Ale House. He is now a patient at Montefiore Medical Center and — now that he has support — is hoping to get on the facility's heart transplant list within the next few months.
"Good things have to come your way at some point," said Pascalis.
Thanks for attending our chapter's re-dedication of our "Donor Rose Garden" in Eisenhower Park on Long Island on September 17, 2011
LI TRIO and NYODN honored and thanked Donors and Donor Families as we re-dedicated our "Long Island TRIO Donor Rose Garden" to Donors and Donor Families in a ceremony held on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 12 Noon. The Donor Rose Garden is located in Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, NY in Nassau County- adjacent to the Women's Sports Pavilion-Parking Field 6/6A.
Donors and Donor families are indeed our heroes.
Below,
Claudia Grammatico, Donor Mom speaks at our Donor Rose Garden Event and
calls up Heart Recipient- Joe Senatore.
Claudia Grammatico helps spread the word about the critical need for organ,
eye and tissue donors. We honored Claudia and the memory of her son, Paul
Grammatico Jr..
Paul
Jr.'s life was tragically cut short at age 26 on May 16, 1999, when he
was killed by a drunk driver. His gifts meant a new heart for Joe Senatore,
who is pictured here with Claudia Grammatico at our event on September
25, 2010. Claudia commented that she once carried that heart for nine
months! It was a pleasure to see Claudia and Joe together under our tent.
'
Thank
you Christine!
Long
Island TRIO thanks Christiine Burki for submitting the following photos
from our 2010 event shown below:
More photos:
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Long
Island TRIO honored Donor Families at our June
25th 2005 Annual
Rose Garden Ceremony and Long
Island Newsday featured this special event on Sunday June
26.
The
Rose Garden and the Rededication Ceremony was established to
Honor all Organ and Tissue Donors and their families.
COURTESY LONG ISLAND TRIO
COURTESY LONG ISLAND TRIO
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