DULUTH - When Vickie Hackey’s son died unexpectedly at age 29 from a brain aneurysm in December 2006, organ donation was not something the family was considering.
Tim Pepworth, of Tower, suffered the aneurysm while Christmas shopping with his mother in Duluth. The doctors put Tim into an induced coma and he survived for 17 days, but never regained consciousness.
“When the doctors first asked us about organ donation, my first thought was no,” said Vickie. “But his friends told me that Tim had talked about organ donation with them, and they all had decided it was something they would wish to do.”
“So, we made the decision to go ahead and donate,” she said. “While our hearts had been broken with his passing, we find comfort in knowing some of him lives on in those he gave the most precious gift of life to.”
The difficult decisions of Vickie and others like her are now being honored in Essentia Health’s new “Wall of Heroes” exhibit being installed in the skywalk to Essentia’s First Street Building in Duluth, and viewable online at essentiaheroes.org.
“This wall is for anyone who has donated organs, or had organs donated to them,” said Vickie. “It is giving honor to those who donate, and to those who have received an organ donation.”
The wall also gives families the opportunity to write about the life and passions of their loved ones.
Vickie’s tribute to her son Tim on the “Wall of Heroes” says that he lived life to the fullest.
“He always had a smile on his face and loved Christmas time because of the family gatherings,” Vickie wrote. “Tim was an amazing guitarist and could often be found jamming with his friends, who he loved immensely.” The posting also honors Tim’s family members, including his mother Vickie, his son Nathan and Nathan’s mother Angela, and his three sisters, Crystal, Allison and Rhiannon. Tim worked for Max Gray Construction and was proud to have recently received his union card.
Essentia St. Mary’s is hosting a special event on Monday, April 18 for the dedication of the Wall of Heroes. It will be held at 12 noon at the flagpole on the Third Street Lobby Entrance, 407 E Third St., Duluth.
Rennae Houle-Burns, an Essentia Nurse Manager who chairs the organ donation committee, said their ICU staff’s goal is “always to have our patients go on to live quality lives.”
But sometimes this isn’t possible, and families have to make a very hard, and very emotional, decision, she said.
“This is a way we could honor those who have provided this gift,” she said, “and to honor those heroes.”
The wall display allows families to make a tribute to their loved ones. It also will become a place to recognize those whose lives have been saved or transformed after an organ transplant.
“To recognize their values in life,” she said, “and the value that their gift of donation has made for other lives.”
Organ donation is a rare procedure. St. Mary’s only had nine donors in 2021. But the organs from those donors went on to save 27 lives.
“Not everyone who dies is eligible,” Houle-Burns said.
St. Mary’s is not a transplant center. Organs donated are retrieved by transplant teams who fly into Duluth and travel back to their own hospitals, usually to the Mayo Clinic or University of Minnesota. St. Mary’s does perform cornea transplants, she said.
The Wall of Heroes began last spring, in honor of April’s designation as National Donate Life Month. The display was funded by the Essentia Health St. Mary’s Auxiliary and the Essentia Health Foundation.
“This was a big investment,” she said, “but we have a heart for donation.”
The group sent out invitations to the April 18 flag raising to area donor families and patients who have received organ donations, and they included information on creating a tribute.
“We’ve had two new tributes added to the wall,” Houle-Burns said. She hopes that more families will participate, and that others will visit to learn about the area families whose lives have been touched by organ donation.
Whenever a family chooses donation, the hospital flies a special flag, and has a ceremony with the family and staff. The flag is then sent to the family.
“The purpose is to honor the gifts of life and sight,” she said.
Organ donor education
Houle-Burns said the most important thing families can do is to talk about donation now.
“It is so much more helpful if a family member knows if their loved one wants to do a donation,” she said. “It makes a hard time a little easier.”
During National Donate Life Month the hospital works to increase awareness, and to urge people to register as donors, on their driver’s license or other documents.
You can also register as a donor at https://www.donatelife.net/ndlm/.