Alyssa Lynch remembers her father, Michael Sankey, as someone who was always up for an adventure. “He was a very outgoing person; he loved to be outdoors and roughhousing all the time,” she says. “It was always adventurous; we always had fun.”
In 2007, Michael was in an ATV accident, losing the entire right side of his frontal lobe and 40% of his right temporal lobe. “It was a lot; luckily, it didn’t put his body through a lot,” Alyssa says. “But over time, my mom passed away from stage 4 brain cancer, and less than a year after that my grandfather passed away from heart failure.”
As a result of the physical and psychological trauma, Michael stopped taking care of himself as well as he should have, causing his kidneys to fail and heart issues to develop. In case the worst should happen, Michael created an advanced directive with the hospital to ensure his wishes were followed. “He made it well known that he wanted to be an organ donor, which surprised us,” Alyssa says.
Eventually, because Michael did not consistently take his blood pressure medication, he experienced a severe brain hemorrhage that left him hospitalized. “Because of the severe hemorrhaging, there was nothing they could do,” Alyssa says. “Within a day, the doctors agreed that he only had reflexive stimuli, so the brain testing showed he was brain dead.”
Michael was able to donate his corneas, lungs, liver and additional tissues to save and enhance other patients’ lives. “It means a lot to us, because he didn’t always see life as worth living anymore,” Alyssa says. “I know that there is still part of him out there.”
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.