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.
She had just come home from studying abroad, something her mother Lori didn’t even know she was interested in.
“She was a quiet girl and when she wanted to study abroad it threw me for a loop,” Lori said. “She was the only student from OU to do the seven-week program. She visited Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, Rome and Scotland. She came back and was so excited for life.”
That September, after attending a funeral for a friend’s father, Hailey, her parents and sister Morgan had an important conversation about their final wishes.
“My girls hadn’t lost anyone in their life at this point, so this was their first time experiencing it,” Lori explained. “The funeral brought up a lot of questions from them. That’s when the conversation about what happens after really came about.”
During that conversation, Hailey shared her decision to become an organ donor, and that she had joined the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. A month later, Hailey would donate her heart, intestine, lungs, liver and kidneys, saving five people.
“She was a big proponent of donation,” she said. “That’s what she wanted to do. It was helpful to know what Hailey’s wishes were. It made it easy to move forward with that decision for someone when they’re not there to talk about it.”
To keep Hailey’s spirit alive, Lori, Morgan and their friends and family have participated in the Gift of Life MOTTEP LIFEWalk/Run almost every year since her death, minus a few due to the pandemic.
Lori also started the Hailey Brouillet Study Abroad Scholarship at Oakland University.
“We donated after her funeral to the university. They mentioned the idea of starting an endowment,” Lori said. “They gave us three years to raise the funds and we did it in six months thanks to our generous community. It was a big accomplishment for me and helped me take my mind off something so awful. My child did exist and I don’t ever want her to be forgotten. With this scholarship, she never will.”
Joining the Michigan Organ Donor Registry is a legal document of your generous gift. It means that upon your death, you agree to become an organ, eye and tissue donor, saving up to eight lives and potentially healing up to 125 others. It’s important to share your decision with your loved ones. Your decision to someday help others through donation cannot be overruled by anyone else. For more information, or to join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry visit golm.org/register.
