ORGAN DONATION
Today, Marisa Auerbach looks like your typical teenager. But as a baby, Marisa had cardiomyopathy, a disorder that causes muscle and tissue damage in the heart. Two years ago, her condition worsened. She waited for a heart for eight weeks, until she got her second chance at life thanks to organ donation.
“Not only did I get an organ, I got the best part of her body, the best organ there is because she was so kind and caring,” says Marisa.
Marisa recently had the rare opportunity of meeting the family of her donor. She received the heart of 28 year old psychologist, Dr. Cynthia Lucero, an experienced athlete who died while running the 2002 Boston Marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She died of hyponatremia, an imbalance of sodium in the blood brought on in part by drinking too much fluid.
“We didn’t even know that until we got to the line, to the finish line and we were supposed to meet with her right there, and she didn’t arrive,” says Hector Lucero, Cynthia’s father.
Hector and Martha Lucero, Cynthia’s parents who live in Ecuador, didn’t think twice about donating Cynthia’s organs.
“It is a gift of life that we must give,” says Hector.
According to the New England Donor Bank only about 10% of organ recipients ever meet the families of their donors. But Marisa’s thank you letter to the Lucero family prompted a meeting.
Marisa’s mother Andrea Auerbach says she couldn’t wait to meet the people who saved her daughter’s life. “I really wanted to tell them that I know April 17th was very hard for them, but now we celebrate it as another birthday for Marisa and that we are so thankful for what they did,” says Andrea, Marisa’s mother.
For Marisa, saying thank you in person was a dream come true.
“As soon as I walked in they knew who I was and they went right over to me and they hugged me and they were crying.”
Although tears continue to be shed by the Lucero’s, as they mourn the loss of Cynthia, Hector says making the decision to donate is what his daughter would have wanted. “I am proud of that moment until today and forever. It is a joy, looking at that girl, it is worthwhile.”
According to the Lucero family, Cynthia had actually written her dissertation on how running can help families cope with grief and was adamant about being an organ donor. Hector Lucero is working to continue his daughter’s legacy by raising awareness of organ donation in Ecuador and starting a scholarship at her college.