Go For The Gold!
(Introduction contributed by Vicki and Carter Lloyd)
We encourage you to take this opportunity to:
- Join a state-wide team
- organ donor families, living donors, recipients
- accomplish group goals
- work and play are both fun!
- Gain an extended “family”
- Caring, laughing, supporting
- Learning about each other
- Sharing experiences, sharing life
- Compete with determination
- U.S. Transplant Games – Pittsburgh, PA, July 11-16, 2008
- Practice
- Have FUN!
- Encourage one another
You don’t have to be a superstar or great athlete. Pick sports that you enjoy or want to learn, PRACTICE, and join transplant recipients from across this country at the U.S. Transplant Games.
Listen to Those Who Have Been There!
Team Alabama has become our extended family. I’ve competed in the games every two years since 2002 – Orlando, Minneapolis, and Louisville.
Yes, we do have to go out and raise money for the team to travel and have uniforms; but fund raising can be simple and has given us so many opportunities to talk to people about organ donation and transplants. People are interested but just haven’t thought much about organ donation. Seeing each (or all) of us and hearing our enthusiasm and determination really makes an impact and increases awareness of the positive aspects of organ donation. Often, we will have group fundraisers and it is always fun to get together and help each other.
Why do I like to go to the games? It’s been such a good experience to see SOOOOOOOO many organ recipients and to honor all the donor families that come to the games. Team AL is made up of recipients, donor families, and living donors. While only the recipients compete, everyone is part of our team. Another aspect of the games that we really look forward to is seeing families that we’ve met at earlier games. For all three games, I’ve competed against a friend I met in 2002 who is part of Team Utah. It’s fun to see him and his family again and visit. Of course, sometimes the games get pretty intense; especially basketball (!), and we really depend on each other’s coaching, leadership, and teamwork.
Carter Lloyd (liver recipient)
Then there is Team Alabama “at home.” We started writing with this sentence – Team Al has become our extended family. As a group, Team Alabama has grown in size since the early games. But it’s not just about the games or the medals, the energy and spirit of this group are tremendous. The tangible goals are seeing an increase in the donor registry and in the number of organ donors in our State, in addition to taking this Team to the Games and competing. The intangibles are amazing and endless! We’ve seen our children grow up touched by the compassion and caring of others. We’ve been there for each other through hard situations and celebrations. We’ve been filled with anticipation and excitement for new recipients as we hear about the transplants. It’s a group that cares every day of each week, each month, and on through the years.
Vicki Lloyd (mom)
Now that Carter and Vicki got us started, take some time to reply below and add your memories to this list of testimonials!
I traveled to Minnesota with Team Alabama 3 years ago and it was one of best experiences of my life to be able to see all of our patients from USA and everyone from around the state compete in the games and have a wonderful time. Everywhere I went I would talk to someone whether it be a recipient or donor family and it reiterated to me that my job as a coordinator does make a difference and how much organ donation can make a difference in this world. I encourage everyone to attend even transplant professionals. Go Team Alabama!!!
We were asked by the Alabama Organ Center to attend the U.S. Transplant Games in Columbus, Ohio in 1998 as their donor family representative and were honored to accept their invitation. Our involvement in organ donation awareness is a way we honor our late son Christopher. We had already attended the Donor Recognition Ceremony in 1996 so we knew something about it but had no idea what the games would be like.
We stayed in the donor family housing with most of the other donor families. The seminars were also held in that building. It was a guest housing facility of Ohio State, with hotel-like rooms and places we could congregate in the evening and talk with other families. Meeting other donor families is a positive experience; it will help you realize there are others in the same circumstances. Sharing our stories is a way to help us heal and overcome our grief.
We knew Frank Reed from Dothan, a kidney recipient and ran into him on our way to line up with the other donor families. He was the only recipient from Alabama and had been planning on being a part of Team GA; but he ended up with a Team AL sign and he asked us to walk into the stadium with him. While we were waiting to enter the stadium we talked with Frank. One of the topics we discussed was why with UAB being a hub of transplantation was our team so small? We vowed that at the next games Team AL would be bigger!
Then it was time to enter the Ohio State stadium. Team AL was announced and the three of us entered the stadium. Wow, you can’t imagine what a thrill it was to be the first team to enter the stadium! It was an awesome experience!
We met so many other families but we also met many recipients and they would come up to us and thank us for being a donor family. There are so many intense moments of sadness and joy that you will experience at the Games. We have been members of the Executive Committee since it was formed for the 2000 games and Pittsburgh will be our 6th games. The Games are a celebration of the lives of our lost loved ones; those members of Team AL that have passed away and of those that are still living the miracle of a second chance at life. The Games are a celebration of life and we hope that your experience will be one you will never forget and that you will join us for many more Games experiences.
Hope & Stephen Gardner
Parents of Christopher Mitchell Gardner 8/20/81 – 7/15/95
I am Austin’s mom. He had a Heart Transplant in 1997 when he was only 11 weeks old. His Donor was a 4 1/2 month old baby boy. His mother gave my son a “Gift of Life”.
We started attending the Games in 2002. Austin won a Gold medal in Bowling and a Bronze medal in Softball Throw. He was 5 years old and completely excited about the medals. Well, he was only 5. Now(at 10 years old), he is excited about being able to play a sport, and he can now remember people from previous Games since he is older. He is also able to enjoy “catching up” with “Games Friends”. Plus, we are able to share the experience with our “Team Donor Families”. Since we are not able to share the experience with Austin’s Donor Family, we adopted the other Donor Families that we do know and meet, and we share with them.
In the 2006 Games, Austin won a Bronze medal in Basketball. I am not saying that he is a whiz kid at basketball, but he had a blast playing. It was his first time playing basketball(other than practice). The Transplant Games is an outlet for sharing and thanking other for the “Gift of Life” as well as raise awareness for the need of these Great Gifts and Blessings. The Transplant Games also allow the recipients and the recipient families to show their thanks and appreciation to Donor families (be it their own Donor family or not) .
THANK YOU DONOR FAMILIES FOR YOUR GIFT OF LIFE!
GOD BLESS!
Stephanie Ledbetter and family
(Austin Ledbetter–Heart Recipient)10 years old
I have been competing in the U.S. Transplant Games since 2000 and that was with Team Georgia. When I moved back to Alabama to attend college at UAB, I found a new family with Team Alabama and have been attending the games with them since 2002. I compete in the 50 yrd breaststroke in swimming and the softball throw. In 2000, 2004, and 2006, I won bronze medals in swimming the 50 yrd breaststroke.
Every two years, I look forward to going to the Transplant Games. I get to see my old friends from Team Georgia and I get to me new friends. This year in Pittsburg, I will be competing against one of my friends from Team Georgia in the pool and it will be a competition. I also love going to the Living Donor Recognition Ceremony at the games because it is a beautiful way of thanking and honoring my dad and all the other living donors.
The U.S. Transplant Games are not about winning medals. They are about showing people that there is life after transplantation. It is also a way for everyone to come together, share their story, and raise organ donation awareness.
Anna Trotman
Kidney from Dad 10/22/98
My daughter Laurie Cooey has had 4 kidney transplants. She attended the games in 2006 and that has been the hi-light of her life. She has been so excited about the upcoming 2008 games. Organ donation has been a way of life for us for the past 25 years. Although her Dad and I were able to provide her with the first 2 kidney’s that she needed we were at the mercy of the donors for the 2nd two. There are no words to express how you feel towards the donor families, but I believe the games will be a wonderful way to show how much they are loved and appreciated. I want to share a fund raising idea that I have been doing. I make box lunches and deliver them to school teachers. I started on March 6th. at my oldest daughters school, she sent an email to all of the teachers asking if they would like to buy a box lunch for $6 to help send her sister to the Transplant Olympics. I had 28 orders my first time, and since March 6, I have delivered to date 279 lunches. All it takes is getting into 1 school and then one of those teachers emails a friend of hers at another school, and so on. I have now done 5 differnt schools and 1 Bank. Hey, I thought I’d pass it on, I know it will work for you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Janis Merritt
Mother to Laurie Cooey
4 time kidney transplant