In Death She Gave

THE
GIFT

OF


LIFE

Family of college student killed in March 10 wreck donates her
organs.

By Jennifer Iannone

Brooke Medcalf, a 22 year-old University of Southern Indiana
student and a 1999 Mount Vernon High School graduate, did just
that. Her love for children allowed her to share a part of herself
with them, helping them to learn, grow and develop through her
elementary education major and through her mother's home
daycare.
Even after her death, she shared much more with people,
donating the gift of life to those in need. Medcalf, who died the
morning of Wednesday, March 10 after the car she was a
passenger in allegedly hit a cement wall, understood the
importance of organ donation.

In the United States, there are about 82,000 men, women and
children waiting for an organ transplant. And each year, about
25,000 organ transplants are performed in the U.S. But, on
average, 17 people die while waiting for a transplant, according
to lifegift.org.

Medcalf was asked if she wanted to be an organ donor when she
got her driver's license.

"I know I was with her when she got that driver's license," said
her mother, Carol Hargett. "And when they were asking her
those questions, I was standing right beside her. They asked her
if she wanted to be an organ donor and she didn't even hesitate.
She said yes."

"And I started saying, 'Wait a minute. Brooke, are you sure?'
And she said, Well, yeah."" Hargett said the people at the license
branch informed Medcalf she could indicate her donor status on
her driver's license, but it wouldn't be permanent.

"And Brooke said, 'Well, I want it on there,"" her mother recalled.

Although some people request to be organ donors on their
license, without an organ donor card, or more importantly, the
permission of family members at the time of death, their wish
may not be carried out. Next-of-kin must sign an organ
donation form giving consent. That is why some people suggest
talking about organ donation with family members before
anything occurs.

"So of course when the physician came to the hospital and we
were approached, my first reaction was no...I was just thinking
no," said Hargett. "And her dad [Richard Medcalf] said, 'Let's
pull out her driver's license and look at it' and we did. And then
I remembered."

Through their pain and grief, Medcalf's family members were
able to grant her request.

"And then I said 'yes, this is what Brooke would want,"" said
Hargett. "We have to do this. And now I am so thankful that we
did that because I know that right now her heart is beating."

Doctors kept Medcalf on life support, giving them time to
procure her organs to transport them into others.

"I'll never forget the surgery. A little girl had made a rosary for
her and the mother brought it in," Hargett said, trying to fight
back the tears.

"And they pinned it to her through surgery. And I told them,
'Just please handle her gently.' That's all I could think about.
They told us with Brooke,in particular, she could possibly save
up to eight lives because her organs were in good condition," said
Hargett.

"To me, that's amazing." "The neat thing about that is that [the
doctor] recommended us to wait at least a year, but he said that
eventually, we would have the opportunity to meet the
recipients," said Hargett.

"And another thing I was told is that the recipients, they also
grieve with the family, which helped, but it was hard going
through those couple days waiting for the surgery."

"I knew she wasn't really there, she was with us...it was hard,
but it's comforting now.

"...Her heart's still beating somewhere and we'll find out soon,"
said Hargett.

"In my mind, this is something that was meant to be.

"You wonder, should she have done this and should she have done
that," said Hargett.

"Well, it happened...Because of that all the lives that she's
touched, it comforts me to know that this was part of God's plan
and we have to accept that."
"TO REMEMBER ME”

Give my sight to the man who
has never seen a
Sunrise, a baby’s face or love in
the eyes of a
Woman.

Give my heart to a person
whose own heart has
Caused nothing but endless
days of pain.

Give my blood to the teenager
who was pulled from
The wreckage of his car, so that
he might live to see
His grandchildren play.

Give my kidneys to one who
depends on a machine to
exist from week to week.

Take my bones, every muscle,
every fiber and nerve
In my body and find a way to
make a crippled child
Walk.

If you must bury something, let
it be my faults, my
Weaknesses and all prejudice
against my fellow man.

Give my sins to the devil.

Give my soul to God.

If, by chance, you wish to
remember me, do it with a
Kind deed or word to someone
who needs you.

If you do all I have asked I will
live forever.

-Robert N. Test