Organ donors and recipients discover life and community en route to New Year’s Day Rose Parade

Donate Life Rose Parade floats person proceeded down Colorado Boulevard for astir 20 years, wowing crowds with 50-foot petal-and-seed sculptures and dazzling ornaments.

But the floral finery pales successful examination to the courage, spot and compassion exhibited by those who thrust connected oregon march alongside the interval connected New Year’s Day.

Heart transplants, weeks-long comas and the heartbreaking decease of loved ones are lone a portion of the lifelong battles faced by the dozens of families who agreed successful Irwindale connected Friday, Dec. 10, to stock their idiosyncratic stories and preview this year’s “Courage to Hope” float.

Tom Mone, Chairman of the Donate Life Rose Parade Float committee and CEO of One Legacy, speaks during the unveiling of the 2022 Donate Life Rose Parade “”Courage to Hope”” interval astatine Fiesta Parade Floats successful Irwindale connected Friday December 10, 2021. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)

Former Tournament of Roses president Gerald Freeny, who besides happens to beryllium a kidney and two-time liver recipient, was liable for selecting the interval bid on with a big of different duties erstwhile helium oversaw the Rose Parade festivities successful 2019.

“And I made definite the Donate Life interval was close down maine arsenic I went down the parade route,” Freeny said during Friday’s ceremony. “Because I cognize however important this origin is.”

This year, the erstwhile instrumentality enforcement serviceman is precise overmuch looking guardant to enjoying a thrust connected the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, helium added during a speech. “Because I won’t person to interest astir anything. I conscionable get to wave, and I cognize however to wave.”

And helium won’t beryllium alone. In total, Freeny volition beryllium accompanied by 13 interval riders who are organ, oculus and insubstantial recipients; 5 walkers who are surviving donors oregon organ recipients; and 35 floragraphs, portraits-in-petals that look to memorialize the deceased donors who gave the precious acquisition of beingness to implicit strangers.

Such donors arsenic Kenneth “Cody” Hodawanus, a 25-year-old Norco nonmigratory who spent 2 years handcrafting an award-winning gramps timepiece for his parent earlier helium died, ne'er told their families they had registered to go organ donors. So the quality came arsenic a implicit astonishment to galore loved ones who spoke Friday.

The floragraph of Kenneth “Cody” Hodawanus is displayed during the unveiling of the 2022 Donate Life Rose Parade “”Courage to Hope”” interval astatine Fiesta Parade Floats successful Irwindale connected Friday December 10, 2021. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)

Nevertheless, the household of Orange County’s Gabriela Hernandez said the actions of the erstwhile Huntington Beach nonmigratory and thousands of different organ donors person inspired them successful ways they ne'er thought possible.

Ava Kaufman, a 71-year-old nonmigratory of Los Angeles, was a salient dancer until she developed a uncommon autoimmune illness called dermatomyositis, which caused her to summation astir 100 pounds and prompted the usage of a walker.

“I was truthful adjacent to dying I saw the airy and truly begged God to instrumentality me, due to the fact that arsenic I came retired of a 2 period coma I realized I couldn’t determination astatine all,” she said Friday. “And past I smelled my daughter’s soiled hairsbreadth due to the fact that she rode horses and I realized that I couldn’t permission her.”

So Kaufman made a woody with God, “after I had already thanked him for a fantastic beingness and asked him to instrumentality maine away,” she said, highlighting however she present proudly heads a nonprofit called Ava’s Heart, which provides assistance to organ donors and recipients.

“I was told that I would ne'er locomotion again and I inactive creation and bash everything — and I’m 71,” Kaufman said. “So convey you to my donor and each donor, due to the fact that determination is thing arsenic precious arsenic life.”

Inland Southern California nonmigratory Susan Van Campen is simply a surviving donor who volunteered to springiness her now-deceased begetter a kidney successful 2004, agreed successful an interrogation aft Friday’s event.

“It was a large calamity erstwhile my begetter died but my household has been inundated by kidney disease. It’s familial truthful my siblings person already had 4 transplants from surviving donors,” Van Campen said. “But I’m precise fortunate and blessed to locomotion adjacent to the float. It’s thing I’ve wanted to bash to grant my dada aft each these years.”

Hernandez’s parent Alba Trujillo shared she had mixed feelings of sorrow and happiness portion she sat successful the assemblage and listened to the heartbreaking stories, but she’s arrogant to cognize her daughter’s grin volition adorn this year’s interval successful a one-of-a-kind floragraph.

Despite inactive carrying the symptom of losing her girl to a drunken operator astatine the youthful property of 24, Trujillo said she has lived successful the tone of Hernandez each time by participating successful remembrance events oregon informing others astir the benefits of registering to beryllium an organ donor.

“It’s important, particularly successful our assemblage wherever there’s a batch of myths surrounding organ donation,” Trujillo said. Fortunately, friends volition spot a pinkish dot connected her licence oregon perchance adjacent spot her successful this year’s parade and inquire astir its purpose.

With a grin that mirrors her daughter’s, Trujillo said she gladly tells anybody who asks to caput to donatelifecalifornia.org/ to prevention a life.

Rene Sorrentino, of Placentia, talks astir receiving a liver transplant from her donor, Nicholas Paquette, who is honored with a floragraph during the unveiling of the 2022 Donate Life Rose Parade “”Courage to Hope”” interval astatine Fiesta Parade Floats successful Irwindale connected Friday December 10, 2021. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)

Like Hernandez’s family, Rene Sorrentino, a 70-year-old Placentia resident, became affectional erstwhile she spoke astir her combat with a deadly microorganism that was attacking her liver.

“They looked outward successful their clip of grief,” Sorrentino said, speaking astir the thousands of families who — successful the midst of situation — thinkof ways they tin assistance implicit strangers. “And that’s the lone crushed wherefore I’m present today.”

It takes large courageousness to travel specified a decision, which is 1 crushed wherefore the 2022 “Courage to Hope” interval features a lion holding a publication that seeks to represents the cognition that donor families and grateful recipients stock erstwhile they accidental yes to donation, OneLegacy CEO Chariman Tom Mone said Friday erstwhile helium took a infinitesimal to item this year’s Venetian-inspired plan and anterior parade awards.

“And awards substance not conscionable to america for ego. But erstwhile you person an grant past competing networks don’t chopped to commercial,” Mone said earlier a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

This year, helium and Donate Life officials are hoping networks erstwhile again hone successful connected the interval this twelvemonth due to the fact that a request for organ donation remains.

If they do, Mone explained, past viewers connected tv volition beryllium reminded that they tin donate a kidney oregon person a transplant, and inactive execute thing they acceptable their caput to.

Freeny summarized the feeling succinctly earlier the ceremony’s conclusion.

“Somebody is surviving wrong inside us,” helium said. “And it gave maine caller beingness and it gave maine caller meaning.”