Abby Whitford was so full of life.
Sarah Whitford has taken some comfort, though, in knowing that parts of her daughter live on.
Through organ donation, Abby was able to save four other lives. Five of her organs her kidneys, liver, intestine and heart went to four recipients after her death.
The decision to donate Abbys organs just clicked.
I dont know if it was fate, if it was God or Abby, Whitford said. It was the first thing on my mind.
About 113,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ in the United States, said Kyle Herber, president and CEO of Live On Nebraska. Nearly 450 of those individuals are in Nebraska, he said.
Live On Nebraska, a local nonprofit, is an organ procurement organization working to recover organs and tissues for transplantation.
We really feel that organ donation is that one final act that someone can give to save anothers life and really leave that lasting legacy, Herber said.
Its not something parents think about, Whitford said, but they knew it was the right choice. It extended the familys stay in the hospital as they tracked matching donors on a whiteboard in the room.
If she cant use these, something good has to come of this, Whitford said. (Four) people were able to live or have a better quality of life due to one tragedy.
The Whitford family learned that Abbys organs would go to two young boys, a young adult and a grandpa. Whitford explained the process to Abbys younger brother Ben like this: Now two Abbys have their Bens.
No matter the age of the person youre losing, its hard to think about, Whitford said. It really has brought me a light in the tragedy. Theres been some hopefulness to come from Abigails death.
Abby was fiercely independent and unapologetically herself, Whitford said. She was a good sister to her brothers Connor, 14, and Ben, 7.
Abbys generous spirit shined at school. She passed out handmade cards to her classmates. Whitford thought Abby was losing jewelry or clothing at school. It turns out Abby would give the pieces to her friends if they said they liked it.
Abby made time to connect with younger students, too. She once checked in on a first-grade buddy to make sure his first day of school went well.
Abby would be high-fiving her organ donor recipients.
She would just think it was the coolest thing, Whitford said. I picture her up there in heaven, the happiest she can be.
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Margie Irfan practices bicep curls during her workout at Life Time Fitness. Iftan entered the world of bodybuilding when she was 46 years old. The Omaha woman has lost 10 percent of her body fat while maintaining the same weight and shes got the toned muscles to prove it.
Jack Mallett practices his tennis skills at Miracle Hill tennis courts. After deciding to quit drinking Mallett, 92, made tennis his addiction.
Michelle Graft runs on the Wabash Trace in Council Bluffs to train for her portion of the MS Run the US relay. Gaft who has MS uses running to keep the symptoms at bay.
Mary Manhart works out at the Downtown YMCA four times a week. She sees the people at the gym as her extended family.
Hadeel Haider started to exercise after being treated forHodgkin's lymphoma, andshe fell in love with Zumba. Haider now teaches Zumba class at the the Maple Street YMCA.
Nancy Nygren works out at least three times a week to help keep off more than 65 pounds that she lost a decade ago. Shes the perfect example of somebody who has lost a significant amount of weight and has done it the right way, said Jennifer Yee, who leads Nygrens boot camp class and is also an instructor in Creighton Universitys exercise science program.
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Katie Chipman, a 12-year-old gymnast with juvenile arthritis, practices at Airborne Academy. Chipman works to hard to compete and only misses practices if her symptoms are too severe.
Joe Reisdorff and Dan Masters grew up in the same town, attending the same church were never close untilReisdorff needed a new kidney and Masters was a match.
Jacob Oswald forgot he signed up to be a bone marrow donor until he got a call saying he was a potential match for a Nebraska baby. He went through with the procedure and more than a year later, met with recipient Alle Jilg.
A workplace accident left Leah Nixon paralyzed from the armpits down. As had to work on becoming more independent, she also worked on reconnecting with an old love: outdoor adventures.
Still recovering from a heart transplant, Rick Ganem wouldn't be able to make it to his daughter Sarah's wedding. So she brought the ceremony to his hospital room.
Since starting her weight-loss journey, Keasha Hawkins-Moore is closing in on dropping half of her starting weight 500 pounds. During that journey, she's battled cancer, lost loved ones and strengthened her faith.
Leota "Lee" Brown suffered a stroke and two days later, the 98-year-old was back to her spunky self at home in an assisted-living facility. She's required no therapy since the stroke.
Harley Swanek had been living with an undetected heart condition for the first seven months of her life. It caused her to become unresponsive for more than 30 minutes, leading to a brain injury. Harley's back home and relearning all of her milestones.
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'A light in the tragedy': Papillion girl's organs save four lives - Omaha World-Herald
