Second chance
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Monday’s “Donate Life” flag-raising ceremony at AHN Allegheny
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lori Keener of Canonsburg speaks at AHN Allegheny General Hospital’s “Donate Life” flag-raising ceremony Monday. The event honors the sacrifices of organ donors and their families, and the gift of life they provide others.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Lori Keener holds her son, Ryan, as they raise the Donate Life flag with her nephews, Aaron, Alex and Austin Salamon at a ceremony honoring organ donors Monday.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the correct donation numbers.
Standing in the courtyard of Allegheny General Hospital with her family nearby, Lori Keener, a speaker at Allegheny Health Network’s “Donate Life” flag-raising ceremony on Monday, said she was honored “to be here to tell you all about my love, Matthew Keener.”
Matt Keener, her husband, died on Christmas Eve 2018 at the age of 43, a day after he suffered a catastrophic brain bleed during an outing with Lori and their son, Ryan, who was 6 months old.
Matt was an organ donor – it was marked on his driver’s license. So, on Christmas Day, he was able to donate the gift of life – his heart, lungs, corneas, and tissue – to at least six people.
For Lori, a Canonsburg resident, knowing that Matt’s death provided a chance for a new beginning for others has brought her comfort.
“While we were in our deepest pain, I held on to the hope of knowing all those people got a call on Christmas Eve that their second chance had come, their Christmas miracle, and that miracle was my Matt,” said Lori.
April is National Donate Life Month, held annually to honor organ donors and their families, and their selflessness. It also aims to raise awareness about the need for organ and tissue donors, and to encourage people to register.
Lori, accompanied by Ryan and her three nephews, raised the Donate Life flag at the end of Monday’s ceremony.
Lori described her husband as a wonderful husband, father, son, and friend who loved dirt track racing, golf, live music, and local craft breweries.
“When our son was born, Matt shined as a daddy. He loved the early morning cuddles and teaching Ryan all about sports. We didn’t know just how little time we would have together as a family,” said Lori.
On the Sunday when Matt suffered the hemorrhage, he, Lori and Ryan attended church, ran errands, and went to a restaurant for lunch.
After they finished eating, Matt stood up and said he wasn’t feeling well.
He went to the restroom, where Lori found him 10 minutes later, unresponsive.
He was rushed to a local hospital, and then transported to Allegheny General Hospital, where doctors informed Lori that he would not recover.
“My life was shattered,” she said.
Shortly after, a doctor approached Lori about Matt’s intentions to be an organ donor, and she consented.
Members of the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) guided Lori through the process.
“I was floored with the love and support they offered to my family, and continue to offer,” said Lori.
Before Matt’s death, Lori declined to be an organ donor. Now, she is an advocate for organ donation, and she registered to be a donor shortly after Matt died.
“I am proud that I signed that pledge for life. I know what made the difference – it became personal,” she said.
Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE, said a record number 792 life-saving organ transplants were made possible in 2020 through partnerships between CORE and the hospitals it serves through Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Allegheny Health Network saved or improved lives through 282 organ, tissue and cornea donations.
Stuart noted that 110,000 people in the United States are waiting for a life-saving transplant. Every 10 minutes, a person is added to the organ transplant list, and about 20 people die each day waiting for a transplant.
The ceremony also featured a living donor couple, Dennis and Heather Haley – Heather donated a kidney to her husband – and Clinton Blazevich, who underwent a heart transplant at AGH last year.
“During April, let the ‘Donate’ flag serve as a symbol to those who have received a second chance, to those who are waiting for a second chance, and to our donor families like Matthew Keener and his wife, Lori, who have given the greatest gift possible, the gift of life,” said Stuart.
Lori said that on the first anniversary of Matt’s death, she received a letter from a woman who had received a tissue transplant as a result of her husband’s donation.
The letter, Lori said, brought her some joy during that first Christmas without Matt.
Lori said she tells Ryan that his father “is a super hero.”
“I want Ryan to know that his daddy’s life didn’t completely end that day, and that his life continues on and his sacrifice has helped others continue on,” she said. “I don’t want Ryan ever to feel bitter or angry that it happened. We want those families to never feel sorrow over receiving his organs because Matt gave them hope and life, and we always want to honor that.”