Jordan House, Organ Donor
Age 17, Plainfield, IN
Date of Donation: 3/25/2008
Hospital: Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health
Jordan was always very loving and giving. She volunteered her time with disabled children and went on mission trips with the Plainfield Christian Church. An avid softball player, she proudly wore her #21 jersey for the Indy Bandits.
On February 27, 2008, 17-year-old Jordan began complaining about a headache. On March 1st Jordan’s condition worsened very quickly, and she was admitted to Hendricks Regional Health. Jordan had an MRI and was scheduled to be tested for meningitis. She suffered a stroke and was immediately life-lined to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
Her brain was swelling, and Jordan was placed in a drug-induced coma for five days. Her mom, Dana, began to pray, “God I release my children to you that they were gifts, and they belong to you,” in hopes her daughter would heal and come home. Jordan came out of her coma, but as the days passed she remained paralyzed from her nose down and unable to breathe on her own.
On March 21 another MRI showed Jordan had Locked in Syndrome with minimal brain stem function; she was never going to recover. On Easter morning her mother, Dana, realized, “Jordan was going home, but it wasn’t our home! And God needed my help her get there. Our family wanted her off life support. If it was God’s plan for her to live, then He would make it be - not a machine.”
A nurse named Mary stood by the House Family and assisted them in contacting the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization. Jordan was a registered donor, and her family wanted to do everything possible to honor her decision to help others. Dana recalled a conversation on Christmas Eve 2007 with their friend, Lynn Livingston (2012 Rose Parade Float Rider), who needed a liver transplant. Afterward Jordan asked her mother, “Mom, aren’t you glad we are organ donors?” Little did Dana know she would be honoring her daughter’s decision three months to the day after hearing their friend Lynn’s story.
On March 24th, Dana called Lynn to say they wanted to directly donate Jordan’s liver to her. Unfortunately, Jordan and Lynn were not a match. Jordan did save four other lives by donating her liver, both kidneys and pancreas. Her family is blessed to have met the pancreas and liver recipients. Their friend Lynn received her life-saving liver transplant from another generous donor, and she is dedicated to volunteering for IOPO alongside Dana and the rest of the House family.
It has been 3 ½ years since Jordan’s donation, her family still tells her story to encourage others. Three months after Jordan passed, they began an annual motorcycle ride, raising over $11,000 in scholarships for Plainfield High School graduates. Dana has spent countless hours at hospitals speaking to nurses, encouraging them to “Be the help a family needs! Be that Mary, the nurse at Riley who helped us!” she tells them.
Dana and Lynn spend time working with IOPO’s partner, Live Nation, at one the world’s top five largest ticketed concert venues. They registered 109 new donor designations at one event, setting an IOPO record. Dana also worked alongside Lynn creating a float for their hometown parade. Using the 2012 Donate Life Rose Parade theme. With her family, Dana walked the parade route and handed out donation information while recipient and donor families were honored as float riders.
One thing that helps the House family deal with the loss of Jordan is organ donation. Dana says, “They say time heals and life goes on, but for me, my healing is only because my daughter was a donor. I am able to get out of bed and not bury myself in the pain, but instead use this hurt to better the world. That’s why I choose to volunteer for IOPO. I want to make sure of two things: First, no one dies on the transplant waiting list. Second, all potential donors have the chance to give the gift of life. I want nurses to know as well. I would hate to see a family suffer the loss of their loved one, without something good coming out of their death.”
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