Donor Medal

As I got the mail yesterday I was surprised to see an envelope from Intermountain Donor Services. I had forgotten how good they are at sending letters at our difficult milestones. For these first 2 years without Gabie they’ve sent us a letter just before his Birthday’s, Christmas & Angelversary, but I always forget they do that until the letter arrives in the mail.This time was different though, they sent a letter as usual but they also sent this Donor Medal in a nice box with a foam pad to hold it in place.

Now IDS letters generally seem to be pre-typed and then our names added in the right places. Which is fine with me, I love that they have a system set up to remember those of us who are still grieving the loss of our loved one. But this time we also received a handwritten letter from our Family Support Liaison who I have spoken with on the phone several times and has been there for every question I’ve had. Undoubtedly she is a liaison to many families but she is always quick to respond to emails and voicemails. The letter she wrote is a thank you note to me that really was unnecessary but I’m glad I was able to help improve one of the things IDS was having problems with. Honestly my only intention was to help a friend who has been an amazing example to me. I’d like to share this letter with you mostly for my own records in my blog book.

June 29

Dear Amy,

I wanted to thank you for your help interceding for your friend (in February, I think) to request we remove her from our mailing list.

As a result of that situation, we updated all the letters we sent to donor families, making it more readily apparent & easier to be removed from the mailing list.

The smallest and easiest changes, can often be overlooked, so I appreciate your input.

Karen

I’m so happy that I was able to help. I know for my sweet friend, receiving the letters from Donor Services was a heartbreaking experience every time they came. Her sweet child was to be a donor but because of unforeseen complications she did not end up being a donor. Every time this mother received an IDS letter it was a reminder of the excruciating pain that came with waiting to see if her baby could be a donor. She struggled to even call IDS to cancel the letters, it wasn’t easy to do on the website, and the phone call itself would be difficult and painful. For me it was a very simple task and easy decision to do this small service for her and in return it looks like other families will be saved from experiencing that extra heartache that doesn’t need to be added to their already difficult grief. I want to thank my sweet friend (she knows who she is) for confiding in me. Since she was able to share this difficult experience with me many other families will be saved from her same feelings.