A Donor Family Story

On Friday December 19th, 2003 our lives were changed forever. It was six days before Christmas, and our children's last day of school before Christmas vacation. Our six year old son Jared was attending an after school program held in the cafeteria of his school, where Jarod was a first grader.

On this day Jarod's mother (Jenny) arrived to pickup Jarod, and discovered Jarod on the floor, unconscious and bleeding severely. Just moments before her arrival, a cafeteria table had fallen like a tree, hitting Jarod in the head with over 8 tons of force as he played nearby. EMS transported Jarod to an emergency room facility less than a half mile away where he was pronounced dead.

Our precious son and brother was gone, and there was nothing we could do but cry in confusion. Our family was devastated.

Despite our grief, there was a lot to think about. One of the things that had to be addressed was whether we donate Jarod's eyes. We choose to do this, hoping that someone else could benefit from our loss. Knowing Jarod and his kind and giving nature, we knew he would have wanted to help others as well.

We are forever change people, and we constantly long for the warmth, laughter, love and wonderfulness of Jarod in our lives. The pain and complexity of our grief is completely indescribable, and nothing I have ever experienced in life compares. Some comfort comes from knowing that he inspired legislation that requires safety inspections for schools, and that he touched other lives with his spirit through the gift of eye donation.

Jim Bennett