Ask Ethan or Melissa Kollman about their first interaction, and chances are, you’d get conflicting answers. Melissa would say that’s the beauty of their love story.
“We have different ideas of how we met, which is, I think, the best thing ever,” Melissa said.
Ethan remained convinced that he’d first seen Melissa during her shift at Shopko. “He was there with some friends, and he saw me and was like, ‘She’s cute.’ I don’t remember seeing him,” she said with a laugh.
For Melissa, their definitive lightning-bolt moment happened at Ethan’s birthday party. “As soon as I saw him, I was like, ‘I’m gonna eventually marry this man.’”
Melissa was right. Seven years later, they were married. Just shy of their six-month anniversary, however, Ethan lost his life in an automobile accident. But his story would not end there.
Big or small, Ethan actively sought opportunities to make a difference in someone’s life. So when he passed, Melissa knew there was no doubt that Ethan would have wanted to be a donor. “He would really love to help people in a way that they need it the most.”
And he did.
Thanks to Ethan, four people’s lives were saved, including a mother of two little boys. The woman suffered from a serious heart condition and had recently lost her father. “And then she got the call, on her dad’s birthday,” Melissa said. “They said, ‘We have a heart for you.’ She was just so grateful for it.”
While Ethan’s life was tragically cut short, Melissa finds comfort in the everyday moments they shared, like how Ethan always brought home rocks from his excavation job. “He knew I liked to collect weird-looking rocks, so he’d always be like, ‘I brought you a rock,’” Melissa said.
From their regular fishing trips to all those times Ethan would pick up Melissa’s favorite beverage on his way home, there’s no shortage of memories. Melissa especially loved Ethan’s willingness to help others, no matter what.
“Like, we were at the park one time, and this kid’s line got all tangled up,” Melissa recalled. “Ethan stopped what he was doing and helped untangle his line, and it took him probably a good 15 minutes.”
When Melissa thinks of those impacted by Ethan’s donations, she believes a piece of him lives on in more ways than one.
“They can think about him every day — whether it’s a skin graft, or they hear their heartbeat, or they have a functioning kidney — they can think, I’m really grateful for this person. Hopefully Ethan’s giving spirit transfers to them.”
Even in his passing, Ethan has brought so much hope to the world. He paid it forward, and Melissa trusts that everyone who learns of Ethan’s generosity will consider paying it forward, too.
“He was the love of my life, my soulmate,” Melissa said. “And now I’m trying to live every day to make him proud. Sharing his story and being out there to ease the stigma around organ and tissue donation is what he’d want.”
Every 10 minutes, someone is added to the organ transplant waiting list.
Approximately 113,000 men, women, and children are waiting for life-saving organ transplants. One organ donor has the power to save up to eight lives and change the outcomes of someone’s world forever by giving them a second chance. Additionally, tissue donation can save and improve the lives of up to 75 people with their gifts. You can make a huge impact by registering as an organ and tissue donor.
Learn more about organ and tissue donation, or register as a donor at https://donatelifewisconsin.org.
