Two photos and a medal rest on Angela McPhee’s desk.
The medal, inscribed with the words Honoring the Gift of Life was given to Angela from the Saskatchewan Transplant Program. The one photo is of her son, Kaden Richardson; the other is of a young girl smiling and holding a sign “Thank you for saving my Daddy.” All of these mementos are intertwined, bound together by an act of generosity and the strength of family purpose—organ donation.
Nearly a year ago on June 6, Kaden passed away with his family gathered around his bed in the Royal University Hospital. Grief-stricken, the McPhee/Richardson family, were able to act on one of Kaden’s last wishes, to donate several of his organs so other families wouldn’t have to feel the pain of losing a loved one.
Kaden’s family gave, selflessly and fearlessly, and at least five recipients received the gift of life through heart, double lung, liver, kidney/pancreas and kidney transplants. However, due to privacy laws, Angela was not put in contact with the recipients of her son’s organs but, instead, received anonymous updates on how the recipients were doing through the Saskatchewan Transplant Organization. One of these updates included two letters; one from the recipient himself, thanking Angela for giving the gift of organ donation and the other was from the recipient’s mother also thanking her for saving her son. And, as luck would have it, last summer Angela also stumbled across the same recipient she received the letter from.
“Kaden was able to give that man his life back,” Angela told me in a recent interview. “It has been amazing to see the recipient enjoy life again, free of dialysis, and to follow his progress of healing. A little girl has her daddy, a wife can keep on loving her husband, and their family and extended family can create many more happy memories together.”
Angela says that the comfort of knowing life was given through Kaden’s death has helped her heal. “There isn’t an hour that goes by without something triggering a memory of my beautiful son, but it hasn’t once crossed our [families’] minds that we made the wrong decision.” Sitting at Angela’s kitchen table, I could feel the battle of emotions that still vibrate in her heart. Pride for Kaden, her wishing to give life when his could not continue, grief over the loss of him, and a hope that Kaden’s legacy continues to live on for years to come.
“Being a mom, I cling to that thought. It is good to know that Kaden’s fun-loving self can continue to give others a fulfilled life. Even being able to talk about funny things with the recipient and family has helped. Once I asked him ‘hey, does peanut butter bother you now?’ Of course it doesn’t, but even being able to talk about things like that has been great for both of our families.”
“As we are learning how to live without Kaden, the one thing we want his recipients to know is that they should not feel guilty for becoming well and living an enriched life. I recently learned that organ recipients sometimes struggle with this guilt. I don’t want that to be the case for the people Kaden has helped. Our family welcomes the recipients with open arms and love in our hearts; whoever they are and wherever they may live. One day, we hope we can find them all and let them know how glad we are to have helped.”
The McPhee/Richardson families’ journey coincides with the end of National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, and an awareness program launched by the Government of Saskatchewan for the importance of organ and tissue donation. The McPhee/Richardson family and the many families helped by Kaden’s decision know the importance of organ donation, and hope others understand how they can also make a difference.
“Making that decision and notifying next of kin is very important,” Angela noted that the organ donation was only possible because her son had made a point of telling her his wish and that the entire family backed her up when it came time to make a decision.
“The next of kin has a great responsibility to follow those wishes through.” For more information how you can give life to others, visit www.saskatchewan.ca for more details.
Feature Image: Photos submitted by the McPhee/Richardson families
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