Organ donor & hero
Otto Abel was only 50 years old when he died suddenly of a stroke in November of 2007. The father of two was an avid outdoorsman who loved nature, a love he passed along to his son, Nathan, and daughter, Natalie, before his death. He's pictured doing what he loved most: fishing.
Otto's wife Patty is an employee of OSF Home Care, so she's no stranger to end-of-life planning. But Otto was young. His death was unexpected. She and Otto hadn't discussed all of their end-of-life wishes yet, so when hospital staff asked if Otto was an organ donor, she simply didn't know. And making that decision for her husband was just not possible when she was trying to come to terms with the fact that he was gone.
It turns out Otto did one last thing for Patty before his death: he saved her the heartache of making the decision by registering as an organ donor. Hospital staff was able to look Otto up in the donor registry to confirm his intent to be an organ donor, relieving Patty of the burden of deciding for him.
Steve Heller, pictured next to Patty, is alive today because of Otto's decision to be an organ donor. At the time of Otto's death, the 57-year-old from Alma, Wis., was on home dialysis. He'd been sick for more than 11 years and on dialysis for more than a year before he got the call that he would be receiving Otto's kidney. After undergoing transplant surgery, Steve no longer needs dialysis and is now living a happy, normal life.
Otto's family will always carry the pain of his loss, but his gift to Steve has brought his family the comfort of knowing that in his death he was able to save a life.
Organ donor & hero
Otto Abel was only 50 years old when he died suddenly of a stroke in November of 2007. The father of two was an avid outdoorsman who loved nature, a love he passed along to his son, Nathan, and daughter, Natalie, before his death. He's pictured doing what he loved most: fishing.
Otto's wife Patty is an employee of OSF Home Care, so she's no stranger to end-of-life planning. But Otto was young. His death was unexpected. She and Otto hadn't discussed all of their end-of-life wishes yet, so when hospital staff asked if Otto was an organ donor, she simply didn't know. And making that decision for her husband was just not possible when she was trying to come to terms with the fact that he was gone.
It turns out Otto did one last thing for Patty before his death: he saved her the heartache of making the decision by registering as an organ donor. Hospital staff was able to look Otto up in the donor registry to confirm his intent to be an organ donor, relieving Patty of the burden of deciding for him.
Steve Heller, pictured next to Patty, is alive today because of Otto's decision to be an organ donor. At the time of Otto's death, the 57-year-old from Alma, Wis., was on home dialysis. He'd been sick for more than 11 years and on dialysis for more than a year before he got the call that he would be receiving Otto's kidney. After undergoing transplant surgery, Steve no longer needs dialysis and is now living a happy, normal life.
Otto's family will always carry the pain of his loss, but his gift to Steve has brought his family the comfort of knowing that in his death he was able to save a life.
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