Steve Wright, Transplant Recipient

We thank the person and the person's family who gave my dad a little extra time....

My father, Steve Wright, served his country in Vietnam. He was subjected to Agent Orange, which caused COPD as he got older. It got to the point where he needed a double lung transplant. Because someone was kind enough to be a registered donor, he was able to get those lungs. Unfortunately, both lungs ended up not taking after the surgery. First, one lung failed, and weeks later, the second one failed. He never left the hospital. But I don’t feel like it was a wasted donation. He lived for several weeks, and we got to spend time with him. His little body was just so frail; he didn’t have the strength. But because our family benefited from a donor, we are all registered donors. And we thank the person and the person’s family who gave my dad a little extra time.