Families of overdose victims find solace in organ donation
Nov 18, 2016, 7:45 AM
It is happening hundreds of times a day, all across America – good people from families you’d recognize overdose on painkillers.
But as heartbroken as his parents are they have found some comfort because of a decision their son made.
Like a lot of people, Charles Grugan decided early on that he’d be an organ donor.
Related: Belltown, Lake City proposed for ‘safe injection site’ locations
“He was checking it off because he believed it was the right thing to do,” his mother, Eileen Grugan, explained. “Not that he would ever be called on to do that. He had big dreams.”
What his mother never imagined was that his time would come so soon.
It was in high school when her some became addicted to painkillers. By the time he was 30 he was on heroin. At age 33, she found him passed out in the living room.
“The brain damage was very, very severe – and he wasn’t going to be coming back,” she said.
They honored his wish to donate his organs. But what the family never imagined was how honoring that wish would help them through their grief.
Howard Nathan of the Gift of Life Donor Bank in Philadelphia told CBS’s Kenneth Craig how organ donation can comfort the grieving.
“They hear that their loved one can save somebody else’s life, and as many as five or six or seven people,” Nathan said. “This helps them in a way we can’t even imagine.”
Charles’ organs were tested and cleared of diseases and damage, Craig reports. His kidneys, liver, and heart went to three strangers.
And because of that, his parents couldn’t be more proud of their son.
“He often thought that he would do something so incredible,” Eileen Grugan said. “And he did it. He really, really did it.”
More commentaries from Dave Ross can be found here.
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
