Stories of Hope

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Michael Love, two-time double lung transplant recipient, is a Gift of Life volunteer
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 10, 2024

Volunteer Spotlight: Two-time lung recipient gives hope to those waiting for a miracle of their own

When Michael Love woke up groggy from his lung transplant surgery in 2015, he instinctively felt his nose for the cannula that had delivered life-sustaining…

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Donor mom Kathy Vogelsang holding a framed photo of her daughter, Rebecca
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 10, 2024

A donor mom becomes leader in the donation community

Kathy Vogelsang lends vision as chair of Gift of Life’s Governing Board  Kathy Vogelsang said goodbye to her daughter, Rebecca, as the bright and funny…

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Tim Schramm holding a photo of his father, Ray, in military uniform
Blog, Stories of Hope | December 9, 2024

“Precious gifts saved my dad.”

One family’s story of tragedy, skin donation and 26 years of borrowed time Roy Schramm shouldn’t have survived.  With burns over 60% of his body,…

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Hailey Brouillet had a fantastic time in Europe shortly before she passed and became an organ donor. Pictured here holding a red rose in front of a tall building.
Blog, Stories of Hope | October 22, 2024

Sharing her spirit

Hailey Brouillet was 20 years old and in her junior year at Oakland University when she was hit by a reckless driver in October 2013….

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Sue Pilon
Blog, Stories of Hope | October 15, 2024

Celebrating BRA Day and the gift of tissue donation

Each year, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Gift of Life Michigan recognizes Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day.  The goal of BRA Day is…

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Blake Hermann, liver transplant recipient, playing with foam numbers on a wall.
Blog, Stories of Hope | October 9, 2024

Two-year-old Blake receives life-changing liver transplant

When Blake Hermann was seven months old, his mother, Molly, noticed that he wasn’t progressing like his twin sister Anna. He had yet to roll…

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Chef Oliver Hale is a two-time kidney transplant recipient
Blog, Stories of Hope | August 17, 2024

Transplant Throwback: Chef Oliver Hale

Name: Chef Oliver Hale (Chef O)  Age: 71  Home: Kentwood, Michigan  Transplant: Kidney, twice    Why did you need a transplant, and when did it…

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Leslie Palacios is a double cornea transplant recipient who shares her story in Hispanic communities
Blog, Stories of Hope | August 16, 2024

Volunteer Spotlight: With her vision restored, Leslie Palacios helps others see the need to be donors

Before Leslie Palacios received two new corneas, her life was a blur.  The Grand Rapids mom of two struggled to read, to cook, to see…

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Suzanne's husband and daughter met her lung and heart recipients
Blog, Stories of Hope | August 15, 2024

Mom of five can breath again

Carla Bussell waited six years to take a good breath.   In 2009, shortly after the birth of her fourth son, she started experiencing shortness of…

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Lisa Haney at the Michigan Capitol steps during the Check Your Heart Capitol Rally
Blog, Stories of Hope | August 14, 2024

Small steps to a big milestone

As an Army sergeant and medic, Lisa Haney was trained to save lives. Then her own life was saved during the military discharge process in…

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David Rozelle, heart transplant recipient
Blog, LifeLines, Stories of Hope | April 17, 2024

Transplant Throwback: David Rozelle

Name: David Rozelle Age: 86 Home: Kalamazoo, Michigan Transplant: Heart Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen? I had a serious…

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Ben, Karen and Mallaki Hayes
Blog, LifeLines, Stories of Hope | April 17, 2024

Mallaki receives the gift of life and a new family

Ben and Karen Hayes knew no one could care for the foster boy like they could A 7-year-old boy in the foster care system was…

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Patrick Pruitt's eyesight was saved by a cornea donor when he was a young child.
Blog, LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 15, 2023

Cornea recipient celebrates his gift of sight

I’m here because 32 years ago I received a life-changing gift. Sight is an easy thing to take for granted and, like so much in…

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Terri Finch Hamilton's father was a donor-in-spirit at the end of his life.
Blog, LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 15, 2023

My dad is a ‘donor in spirit’

I was sitting in my living room, numb with grief, when the phone rang. My dad had died a few hours earlier. A woman named…

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Sherry Johnson, with hair pulled back right, sits on her bed in her hospital room while she waits for a second heart and kidney transplant. Her forearm is facing the camera so we can see her tattoo, representing her original heart and her first transplanted heart.
Blog, LifeLines, Stories of Hope | December 14, 2023

You gave me your heart so I could live my dreams

Sherry Johnson shares her experiences as a heart transplant patient who waits again Sherry Johnson was so exhausted she couldn’t walk her two little boys…

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