Tissue donation is a reality for Cheryl Duchesneau. She had never heard of tissue donation when her son, Corey, died suddenly in a car accident in 1995. Corey had told his mother he wanted to be an organ donor, so when Cheryl also learned of the possibility of tissue donation through a funeral director, she thought, “Corey would want this.”
Cheryl also thought how she would feel if Corey were in the hospital needing a tissue transplant himself. She knew she would hope a donor somewhere would be so generous as to help her son. Cheryl says, “If this was you or your child in need, what would you want?”
Corey always wanted to help others. At 12 he enrolled in his local fire department’s junior program and continued on to become a fireman himself. He was also studying for a degree in nursing at the time of his accident.
Cheryl became a tissue recipient herself in 2000, when two discs in her back were replaced, due to painful osteoporosis. She says she’d like to thank the donor’s family, but thinks they probably feel the same way that she does. Cheryl: “Just knowing there are people who have received gifts from Corey is enough for me.”
