Donate Life Sit-in: Save Lives with Organ Donation

Life Connection of Ohio described the important symbolism of the Green Chair:

“The Green Chair’s meaning is two-fold. When it is empty, the Green Chair represents overwhelming sadness from the loss of someone who died while waiting for a transplant. 

“But when someone is sitting in the Green Chair, it showcases a transplant recipient’s second chance at life. The tagline of the Green Chair Campaign is “Don’t let another chair go empty” because encouraging more people to register as organ donors means there will be fewer empty chairs.”

The Donate Life Sit-in will make that tagline a reality.

Meet the recipients, donor heroes, families and supporters who will be sitting in the chair and sharing their stories April 8-9, with the following biographies written by Life Connection of Ohio:

Rose Hajjar was born in 2007 with hypoplastic right ventricle. This heart defect meant one of Rose’s ventricles was underdeveloped and caused inadequate blood flow to her lungs. She had three open-heart surgeries before she was 3 years old.

When she was in kindergarten, Rose was diagnosed with protein-losing enteropathy, a complication of the life-saving surgeries she had as a baby.

Rose endured countless hospital stays, years of medical tests and treatments, and she grew up relying on a pump that provided a continuous infusion of medication. She developed masses in her liver, daily joint and muscle pain, and her growth was stunted.

On Feb. 6, 2018, Rose was added to the national transplant waiting list in need of a new heart – the only cure for her disease and hope for a healthy future.

Rose received her gift of life on Dec. 14, 2018.

In 2020, Rose met her donor family – the beautiful Wells family from Knoxville, Tennessee – and they are a big part of each other’s lives.

“They are like family to me. I love them. I talk with them almost every week and share what’s going on in my life,” Rose said.

Rose’s transplant has given her a new lease on life – she enjoys traveling, playing varsity softball at Ottawa Hills High School, and spending time with her friends and family. Rose, now 17, plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall.

“I know that I got this gift for a reason,” Rose said. “And I do not want to take it for granted.”

Sarah’s husband, TeeJay, embodied infectious joy, a boisterous laugh, the innate ability to make a connection with anyone, and he was all about family. His incredible caring, compassionate nature was felt every day by those he loved, including Sarah and their son, Brantley.

Sarah enjoyed when TeeJay would leave scavenger hunts for her, bought her flowers just because, packed her lunch every day, and always made her feel special, loved and safe.

TeeJay’s work ethic was unmatched, and he was dedicated to ensuring his family had everything they ever wanted.

From a young age, TeeJay knew he wanted to be an Athletic Director, and he did just that at Evergreen Local Schools, where he spent countless hours scheduling events, coordinating new scoreboards and play clocks, and upgrading athletic equipment – all because he was passionate about creating the best possible environment for athletes, parents, coaches and the community as a whole.

Tragically, 30-year-old TeeJay passed away when his vehicle was struck eight years ago on April 8. At the time, Sarah was pregnant with their son, Henry, who would be born six weeks later.

TeeJay was a registered organ donor, and Sarah honored his decision. TeeJay’s final lesson in love was saving five lives through organ donation, leaving an incredible legacy.

“I have been aware of organ donation for many years as my father was a police officer and we discussed it my house growing up, but I never personally knew anyone affected by it until Kelly and Monny Yakumithis. I’ve known Monny for over 25 years and met Kelly when she started working with my wife about 10 years ago. We have been deeply touched by their story, especially as we have a daughter who was born just weeks after Elena. In the most difficult days of their lives, they made the decision to donate her organs to save the lives of two people. Through unfathomable grief, they provided the gift of life to complete strangers. They continue to share their story and encourage others to become organ donors and have inspired me to advocate for this very worthy cause.

“Organ donation is an important conversation that should happen in all families. When our children became licensed drivers, we discussed the importance of it with them and how some good can come through great tragedy. These can be complicated and difficult conversations to have, but that does not make them less important. I believe in my role as a public figure, it is important to champion causes such as this, to help educate the public and raise awareness. Our family has participated in the Hero Hustle 5K whenever possible for many years. Events like this are important because not only do they raise awareness, but they bring people together to honor and remember loved ones lost and to celebrate lives that were saved.”

“When Kelly Yakumithis asked me if I would participate in this event, I immediately said ‘yes’ – both because of our friendship with her and Monny and to help raise awareness. I think some people have misconceptions surrounding organ donation, and the only way to combat that is through education. Our daughter is a junior at Ohio State University, and she is studying to be in the medical field. Just a few days ago, she called my wife and told her that she experienced her first ‘hero walk’ at the hospital. She was moved by the experience – how, even through their pain, people are able to give to others and literally save lives. Even though we were not lucky enough (to) know Elena personally, her legacy has inspired us. She, and all organ donors and family members, are true heroes in our community.”

Paul’s granddaughter and Katie’s niece, Julia, was diagnosed with heart failure as a baby and was in desperate need of a heart transplant. On June 23, 2001, at just 8.5 months old, tiny yet feisty Julia received a life-saving heart transplant.

Julia’s gift of life allowed her to participate in a variety of sports, serve as captain of the JV color guard team, participate in honors choir, teach herself how to play the ukulele and win multiple medals at the Donate Life Transplant Games of America.

Sadly, Julia passed away on February 28, 2022, but her heart transplant gave her an extra 20 years, 8 months and 6 days of life.

Additionally, Paul’s grandson and Katie’s nephew, Blake, had an enlarged heart as a baby, and he also needed a transplant. His gift of life came on Jan. 3, 2010, when he was just 7 months old.

Blake’s heart transplant has allowed him to be a normal kid with no physical limitations. He has played a variety of sports, and the now 15-year-old is a sophomore in high school who is looking forward to getting his driver’s license this summer.

Paul and Katie are forever grateful for the donor heroes who made life possible for their family members.

“The most selfless gift a family can give in their time of darkness is light to another family through organ donation,” Katie said. “As a two-time pediatric heart transplant family, we are forever grateful for the gifts of life given to our young family. A chance to live, laugh, love and grow as every child should have. The gift of life is truly priceless.”

George was diagnosed with familial cardiomyopathy, and his condition worsened over the years to the point of needing a life-saving heart transplant. His father suffered from the same disease and was waiting for a heart 20 years before him, but he sadly did not receive one in time.

George’s heart was growing weaker by the day, but everything changed on July 25, 2018, when George received the transplant that he so desperately needed.

He has an art rendering of his first EKG with his new heart framed in his home, and he looks at it with gratitude every day. George is grateful that his second chance at life has given him the opportunity to spend more time with his wife of 48 years, Brenda; his four sons; and his 11 grandchildren.

While 10 of his grandchildren were born before his transplant, his newest granddaughter, Sammy, just turned 1, and George said, “I am so blessed that I can see this beautiful new addition to the Mullan family. I enjoy watching all of my sons as they fill the important role as husbands and fathers.”

In addition to spending time with his family, George takes frequent walks with his dog, Finn; enjoys water aerobics; and serves as a coach. He has been coaching in the CYO for 50 years, and this past season, he served as an assistant coach to his son, Kevin, at St. Pius School for the third-grade boys and sixth-grade girls teams.

When asked what he would say to his donor family if given the opportunity, George said, “I’m absolutely sorry for your loss, but what it has done for me, what I feel it has done for my family, what I hope it has done for others… it’s a miracle.”

Rewind to Halloween 2020. Danielle woke up feeling sick, and she noticed her skin had turned yellow.

One trip to the Cleveland Clinic, and she was diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis. Danielle learned her condition only has one cure – a liver transplant. That news came as a shock to Danielle, who was busy treating patients at Nagel Chiropractic Center and being a wife and mother.

In January 2021, Danielle was placed on the national transplant waiting list, and her condition worsened. Miraculously, Danielle received a life-saving liver transplant on Feb. 25, 2021, and she was discharged only four days later!

Danielle is grateful that her gift of life restored her health, allowed her to return to work and enabled her to spend more time with her family, including her husband of almost 15 years and her 11-year-old son.

She hopes to meet her donor hero’s family one day.

“I’ll be eternally grateful. I don’t know how to thank someone for this gift,” Danielle said. “I will always pray for the family.”

Russ and Kathi’s son, Dylan, lived by the mantra “no regrets.” He was a hard-working young man who loved soccer, motorcycles and four-wheelers.

Sadly, 20-year-old Dylan passed away on July 31, 2006, but on that day, he saved five lives through organ donation and healed more than 80 others through tissue donation.

While Russ and Kathi were not aware that Dylan registered as an organ donor, they were so proud to learn that he made that decision, and they honored it.

“Dylan saved five lives in one day. They call organ donors ‘heroes’ for a reason,” Kathi said.

Russ and Kathi have since met Dylan’s liver recipient, pancreas recipient and kidney recipient, who they now consider family.

Dylan and the life-saving message of donation are featured on Hyway Trucking Company’s fleet of more than 400 trailers, traveling millions of miles encouraging people to be a hero like Dylan and Donate Life.

Those “Dylan sightings,” as Kathi calls them, make her smile every day – and underscore the importance of inspiring others to save lives through organ donation.

“If sharing our story makes another chair not go empty and gives another family’s loved one the ability to donate… It’s such a great thing that comes out of such a tragedy,” Kathi said.

Tonya was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was just 9 months old. The disease took over her life – she could not laugh without getting a coughing spell, she fought exhaustion to stay awake and she wore oxygen 24 hours a day because her lung function dropped to 19%.

Tonya feared she would die before a transplant would be available, and that she would not be around for her 2-year-old son, Eric, or her husband, Mario.

But on May 25, 2004, Tonya received a life-saving double lung transplant. Taking her first deep breath after her transplant is something that she will never forget.

Since then, Tonya has met her donor family, and she said she lives every day like her donor hero, Adam, is watching.

“I’m honoring Adam by taking care of the lungs I’ve been given. I received this gift, and I feel compelled to share it with everybody,” Tonya said.

Tonya serves as Board of Directors President for Team Ohio Transplant Athletics, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Donate Life Transplant Games of America, a biennial Olympic-style competition for transplant recipients that showcases the power of organ donation.

Monny and Kelly’s 6-year-old daughter, Elena, loved hippos, cupcakes, sprinkles and anything pink. She enjoyed singing and dancing, and she had an infectious sense of humor.

Elena loved helping people. She jumped at the opportunity to distribute snacks and water to tornado victims in Millbury; she made frequent visits to retirement homes to spread joy to the residents; and she donated her bouncy brown curls to Locks of Love.

Tragically, Elena passed away on June 9, 2010. That day, Elena forever changed the lives of two people.

Monny and Kelly have exchanged letters with Elena’s liver recipient and her family, and the similarities between her and Elena are remarkable. The liver recipient chose “Elena” as her name in Spanish class – and that was way before her transplant. The day of her transplant, she asked her dad to find her a hippo Pillow Pet. He thought that was an odd request and was amazed to learn later that Elena collected hippos.

One of Elena’s hippo stuffed animals is one of many personal items woven into a custom piece of donor hero artwork displayed at Life Connection of Ohio’s Toledo Regional Office.

“One of the things I miss is having new things for our child. When Life Connection of Ohio reached out with this amazing project, we thought about what that would mean. It would mean someone looking daily at things that had been put away, it would mean our daughter’s name being read every day, it would mean awareness for organ donation… The artwork is so beautiful it moves us to tears every time we view it or think about it. It is clearly a labor of love, and Life Connection of Ohio respectfully showed us love through art.”

Doctors gave Kara’s father, Harvey J. Steele, one week to live. He was in end-stage liver disease, and his only hope for survival was a liver transplant.

On Nov. 5, 1997, Harvey received the liver transplant that he so desperately needed.

A few weeks after his transplant, Harvey returned home and started making the most of his second chance at life. He immediately began volunteering for Life Connection of Ohio, where Kara currently serves as Director of Community Services. He never said “no” to any opportunity to help others or to be the voice for charitable organizations because he was so grateful someone said “yes” and saved his life.

Sadly, Harvey passed away on Dec. 28, 2017.

He did so much good in his 60 years of life, but the legacy he left from his last 20 years – all made possible because of organ donation – is unmatched. He was a tireless advocate for organ donation, and he used his platform on K-100’s Shores & Steele to promote that life-saving message.

Harvey broadcasted live from the Green Chair at several Donate Life Sit-ins at WTOL 11, so Kara is taking a seat in his honor and sharing his story during the live interview time slot that he filled so many times before.

“My dad was gifted 20 additional years of life because someone said ‘yes’ to organ donation, so I blame him for my career in the best possible way,” Kara said. “I am forever grateful for the donor hero and his family who allowed me to have those extra years with my dad.”

This dynamic duo has been at their respective organizations for more than 18 years.

At Life Connection of Ohio, the non-profit organization that serves families and saves lives through organ donation, Kelly specializes in marketing and education, and she coordinates a variety of events, including the Donate Life Green Chair Sit-in!

At Solvita, the non-profit organization that serves families and saves lives through tissue donation, Abby facilitates the gift of tissue donation.

Together, these ladies serve as co-planners for the Hero Hustle 5K, which aims to strengthen support, education and recognition of organ, eye and tissue donation in northwest Ohio.

“My favorite part of the race each year is when it’s over and we all take a deep breath and high-five each other and talk about what we just witnessed,” Kelly said. “Every year, it’s new people, new stories and new advocates for this life-saving mission, and we continue to celebrate with the recipients and supporters and honor the donor heroes and their families.”

The 2025 Hero Hustle 5K is set for Nov. 1.

“I look forward to the Hero Hustle every year. We take tragedy and bring the community together to honor donors, celebrate recipients and add in some of the best healthcare personnel and community supporters,” Abby said. “This event is a testimony to the impact of a single ‘yes’ to being an organ, eye and tissue donor.”

Between her 40+-year career as a nephrology nurse and marrying into a family with kidney disease, Glenna has always been surrounded by the importance of kidney donation.

Her husband received two living donor kidney transplants, and to pay it forward, Glenna donated one of her kidneys to a stranger on April 24, 2017!

“I just wanted to help someone either prevent dialysis or get off dialysis, and if I could do that with something as easy as donating a kidney, then why not?” Glenna said.

RELATED: Nurse’s kidney donation sparks lifelong advocacy for disease education

In 2018, she co-founded Kidney Donor Conversations with her daughter, Amanda. The goal of the non-profit organization is to raise awareness about living kidney donation.

To take that passion a step further, this year, Glenna’s book – “Understanding Living Kidney Donation: The Best Treatment for Kidney Disease” – was published on Amazon!

The rapidly thinning cornea of Jeff’s right eye was causing him to slowly go blind. No glasses or contacts could help the keratoconus causing the problem.

But everything changed on May 17, 2012, when Jeff received a sight-restoring cornea transplant.

Jeff thinks of his donor hero and donor family often.

“A day with a drastic improvement to my quality of life may be the worst day for someone else’s family. That was not lost on me,” he said.

Jeff is thankful for his gift of sight for many reasons, but the ability to clearly see his son, Wally, and daughter, Millie, grow up tops the list.

Debbie’s husband, Larry, was a mechanic and supervisor in the Motor Vehicle Department at the University of Toledo for more than 25 years. He enjoyed taking apart and fixing anything with a motor and even fashioned handmade tools.

Larry enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking and boating; riding his Harley; and cheering on the Buckeyes, Packers and Tigers. Above all else, Larry was a family man, and he was devoted to Debbie and their three children.

Tragically, Larry’s motorcycle was struck on his way to work, and he passed away on August 31, 2013, at the age of 54. “We prayed for a miracle. Our prayers weren’t to be answered, but at the same time we were praying, there was someone else praying for the gift of life.”

That day, Larry saved four lives through organ donation – a decision that reflected Larry’s incredible generosity.

“He gave so much all of his life, and I knew that he would want to give the gift of life. Through all of our pain, organ donation gave me such peace and such comfort at a time when comfort was hard to find,” Debbie said.

Every year to honor Larry, Debbie organizes Team Hilton at Life Connection of Ohio and Solvita’s Hero Hustle 5K in celebration of his life-saving legacy.

“Life Connection of Ohio embraces you like you’re family,” Debbie said. “They lifted us up when we couldn’t stand, and they still carry me.”