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A publication of Gift of Life Michigan • Spring 2025 • Volume 4 • Issue 1

Tommy Schomaker survives and thrives helping sick kids like him

He graduated this spring with a nursing degree

Tommy Schomaker entered the world in 2000 with half a heart.

Just seven days after his birth at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Tommy underwent his first of six heart surgeries, marking the beginning of a long relationship with the Ann Arbor hospital and years of critical medical challenges.

The generosity of a little girl’s family gave the 8-year-old — who was running out of time — a chance to grow up.

Fast forward nearly 25 years.

Tommy now works as a nurse assistant on the same hospital floor where he once fought for his life. Today, some of those nurses are co-workers and the doctors who oversaw his care can’t help but grin as they see him walking the halls wearing hospital scrubs.

President & CEO Dorrie Dils

Our donation champions inspire hope and resilience for so many

Heart recipient Tommy Schomaker’s full-circle story inspires us

 

Dorrie Dils is president and CEO of Gift of Life Michigan

Every spring, we have the privilege of recognizing extraordinary people and organizations that help us carry out our life-saving mission. We rightfully refer to them as champions, because their dedication, compassion and resilience promote or make donation happen in their hospitals and communities. 

On May 2, we presented another 18 awards at the annual Gift of Life Michigan Champions Gala in Detroit. 

We were thrilled to tell the story of 24-year-old Tommy Schomaker that night. His battle with heart disease began at birth, and his life was saved by a young donor named Audrey when Tommy was just 8. He later faced the challenges of rheumatoid arthritis and, most recently, fought and triumphed over cancer. 

One day after the gala, Tommy experienced a life goal: He received his nursing degree from Michigan State University. His next great hope is to work at a pediatric cardiac unit so he can help patients like him and families like his. Tommy’s full-circle dream would not have been possible without little Audrey. 

Tommy Schomaker is a nursing assistant on the pediatric cardiology floor at Mott Children's Hospital, where he received his own heart transplant at age 8.
Tommy Schomaker now works at C.S.
Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.

His goals also might not have been realized if Tommy hadn’t persevered with strength, purpose and positivity. 

I recently heard a leading expert in change management speak about how we choose to respond to life’s challenges. 

One perspective that resonates with me is the idea of shifting our mindset from asking, “Why is this happening to me?” إلى “Why is this happening for me?” It’s a call to find meaning and growth in even the most difficult circumstances, and it transforms adversity into an opportunity for learning, growth and the ability to make a difference. 

This spirit of resilience is something we see in our donor families and transplant recipients like Tommy. They find ways to transform their experiences into something meaningful, inspiring hope and healing for others. The champions we are honoring this year share this same courage and determination. They are individuals who run toward challenges rather than away from them. They are leaders, problem solvers and lifesavers who embody the very heart of our mission. 

As we celebrate these remarkable individuals and organizations in this issue of our premier publication, we extend our deepest gratitude for their dedication, courage and commitment to making a difference. 

“Every spring, we have the privilege of recognizing extraordinary people and organizations that help us carry out our life-saving mission.” — Dorrie Dils

2025 Champions Gala

Congratulations to the 18 people and organizations we recognized at Gift of Life Michigan’s seventh Champions Gala on May 2. They were selected from dozens of nominations for their extraordinary efforts to promote or make organ, eye and tissue donation happen in Michigan over the past 18 months and beyond. 

Without them, and other passionate advocates across the state, Gift of Life’s efforts to fulfill the generous decisions of donors and their families would be difficult to impossible. 

Standing ovation at the 2025 Champions Gala
Dorrie Dils presents the Honoring Life Through Donation Champion Award to Debra Wyant and her grandson, Ollie.
Josie Springer is a donation coordinator who has traveled to hospitals across Michigan to care for donors and their heartbroken families for 29 years.

Staff Spotlight: Veteran Donation Coordinator Josie Springer lends skill and compassion to life-saving mission

As grieving parents prepared for their daughter to save lives as an organ donor, Gift of Life Michigan’s Josie Springer headed to a craft store for a plaster handprint kit to make a treasured keepsake for them. Josie Springer is […]

Lisa Haney

Transplant Throwback: Lisa Haney

Name: Lisa Haney  Age: 54  Home: Detroit  Transplant: Heart  Why did you need a transplant and when did it happen?  My heart issues started as I was leaving the Army in 2017. I was doing my discharge physical, and my […]

Deb Gustafson helps organize events where volunteers craft warm, fuzzy comfort blankets to help ease the grief of donor families.

Volunteer Spotlight: Deb Gustafson gets a kidney, then offers comfort to families from her heart

Deb Gustafson’s life changed at church one morning when a friend named Bonnie sidled up to her and whispered, “I want to be tested.”  Disease had destroyed Deb’s kidneys, and she’d been living without hers for more than three years. Only dialysis kept her alive, and that took everything out of her.  “The next step was hospice,” she said. “I […]

Gift of Life’s employee giving hits a new high

Susan Rink, director of advancement

Nearly one-third of Gift of Life’s 394 employees gave back financially to the organization last year, the highest percentage yet for the payroll-deduction program that funds outreach programs in communities statewide and more. 

The 126 participants gave a combined $25,717, an increase of 29% over 2023, said Susan Rink, director of advancement at Gift of Life. 

“Not only are our employees working to support our life-saving mission, so many of them are giving portions of their paychecks to help us reach more people and register more donors,” she said. “Their contributions to the critical كلنا high school education program alone are profound.” 

Education legislation would bolster the Donor Registry

Patrick Wells-O'Brien is the VP of communications and external relations

More than 14,000 Michiganders were added to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry last year as a result of Gift of Life’s most celebrated legislative victory in years. The historic Check Your Heart Act made Michigan the first state to offer taxpayers the opportunity to join the Donor Registry through their state income tax forms. 

That was real progress, and we celebrated on behalf of the roughly 2,500 patients waiting for an organ transplant in Michigan. We expect that more Michiganders will have checked the box during this year’s tax season, and we thank them. 

We also know that stubborn barriers to Donor Registry momentum could be overcome with the passage of additional critical legislation. 

Neighboring states Ohio, Indiana and Illinois all require education in their public high schools about organ and tissue donation and their donor registries. 

Michigan has no such requirement. Because of that, our teens are registering at a lower rate than our neighbors after they take driver’s education and obtain their first license or state ID. 

Dr. LokMan Sung

New members join Gift of Life Michigan Governing and Advisory Boards

We are proud to announce one new member of the Governing Board and five new members of the organization’s Advisory Board.  The Governing Board oversees the strategic vision and mission for Gift of Life, while the Advisory Board provides recommendations on policies and procedures that make up the donation and transplantation processes. 
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Photos of transplant recipients on a mural at Gift of Life Michigan

A message to the donation community

Regulations pull donation and transplantation in opposite directions, resulting in thousands of unused organs. Recent news has highlighted the growing number of transplant patients being skipped on the waiting list; even as donated organs go unused. The root cause is a misalignment of federal regulations governing organ donation and transplantation. The government must act swiftly to resolve this issue and save more lives. 
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Hands holding rosary beads

Religion and organ, eye and tissue donation

Signing up to become an organ and tissue donor is a personal decision, shaped by individual, family and sometimes faith-based considerations. All major religions in the United States support organ and tissue donation. Many religious leaders view it as the ultimate act of human kindness and charity or believe that it is a decision to be left up to the individual or family.
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Gift of Life logo on its building

Gift of Life set records in 2024

Gift of Life Michigan hit more milestones in 2024. The state’s organ and tissue donation program helped a record 1,960 donors give the gift of tissue last year, healing tens of thousands of patients. Last year’s number represents a 5% increase over the previous record of 1,858 set in 2023.  Gift of Life also helped 533 people give organs last year. It was the second-highest in the organization’s history, following the record of 578 set in 2023. Organ donors gave 1,119 organs for transplant, saving hundreds of lives. 
قراءة القصة

بالخارج مع هبة الحياة

Nearly 2,500 people attended Gift of Life’s six major events across Michigan last year, helping the organization celebrate the gifts of life, sight and mobility. 

Attendees traveled to Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor and Novi for the Champions Gala, Check Your Heart Rally at the Capitol, Donate Life Night at the Zoo, Detroit MOTTEP LIFE Walk/Run, the Check Your Heart Open House at Gift of Life, and the annual Donor Family Gathering. 

We also visited classrooms, hospitals, places of worship, government meetings, colleges and universities, sporting arenas and more. 

Learn how you can get involved and also volunteer at golm.org/volunteer. 

Join us!

تحقق من قلبك كابيتول رالي 

June 17 لانسينغ 

تبرع بـ Life Night at the Zoo 

July 17 Grand Rapids 

LIFE المشي / الركض 

July 26 ديترويت 

تحقق من قلبك المجتمع المفتوح البيت 

August 12 آن أربور 

Visit golm.org/events to see what’s going on. 

Capitol Rally March of Honor
LIFE Walk
Guests at Donate Life Night at the Zoo
Check Your Heart Open House guests

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