Family Spotlight

Meet TJ Wilson … A COTA Miracle

Four-year-old TJ Wilson is alive, growing and able to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year because of a donor heart he received nearly three years ago.

TJ’s story is one that strikes terror in a parent’s heart. According to Randy and Lori Wilson, TJ was a happy and healthy toddler until one day in June 2007, while being treated for flu-like symptoms, TJ suffered a cardiac arrest … and the Wilson family’s life changed forever. Doctors quickly went to work on the toddler. Randy and Lori watched while doctors tried unsuccessfully to re-establish a heart beat. TJ was placed on a heart/lung bypass machine and the waiting began. Several weeks later they were told TJ had restrictive cardiomyopathy and his only chance for survival was a heart transplant. The medical team at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh moved quickly to equip TJ with a Berlin Heart to buy the time needed to find a donor heart. On July 16, 2007, TJ received his new heart, and his second chance at life.

During these upside-down days, the Wilsons heard about the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA). “COTA gave our family and friends fundraising guidance and structure so they could do something to help us when we were feeling so very helpless,” said Lori. “At a time when we felt hopeless, COTA empowered our family and friends. So many people wanted to help: COTA turned that desire to help into a fundraising effort that generated much-need financial assistance … and a sense of hope.”

TJ was released from the hospital and returned home in mid-August 2007. However the homecoming was short-lived. TJ was readmitted to the hospital in early January 2008 when he was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder -- a post-transplant complication caused by the Epstein Barr virus. TJ was very sick again, and his body started to reject his donor heart. After specialized medications and medical intervention, TJ was able to fight off the disease and the rejection. On March 20, 2008, TJ and his Mommy came home for a second time.

“TJ’s entire story is a miracle. On a seemingly routine trip to the ER to address possible dehydration from the flu, our healthy toddler nearly died as we watched. Since that evening, we have witnessed miracle after miracle with TJ. Thanks to COTA and his amazing transplant team, we are home and our boy is thriving,” said Randy.

TJ is now gaining weight, growing taller and takes only two medications each day. TJ has no developmental delays, no learning issues, no speech problems and is able to eat anything he desires.

A true COTA miracle of the heart!

Please visit www.COTAforTJW.com and leave the Wilson family your own
message of encouragement, or make a donation to help with ongoing
transplant-related expenses.

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Giving Options

Record of Essential Information

As years go by, we often lose track of all we accumulate along life's pathway. In some families it's a cradle or christening gown that has been handed down for generations, or an autographed baseball signed by a forgotten hero from 1964, or a faded program from a grammar school play our son or daughter performed in, or a even a can of paint used to spruce up our first home.

These are but a few of the things we sometimes tuck away in a closet, but they often shape our lives and always they remain in our hearts.

From an estate planning perspective, there are several other bits and pieces we frequently accumulate and forget we have. Items such as savings accounts, stocks and bonds, mutual funds, mortgages or leases, partnerships, antiques and other works of art, furniture, and paid-up life insurance policies are all examples.

We often forget about these items tucked away in a safe deposit box or stuffed in the back of the file cabinet, but they too can be gifts from the heart, making a big difference in our loved ones’ lives. We also often forget how our lives have changed along life’s pathway. Marriages and remarriages, children and grandchildren, births and deaths of friends and loved ones, and changing interests, desires and priorities are all examples. Because of this, it is beneficial to do a thorough accounting of one's assets and priorities to determine what needs to happen to certain treasures, and even routine items, when we are no longer able to make such decisions ourselves. Often, individuals neglect to write a will, or even a plan, for how their assets will be dispersed after they are gone. It is truly sad to witness cherished possessions indiscriminately disposed of when one fails to provide instructions for their heirs and loved ones.

The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) has a questionnaire that will assist
you in creating a mechanism for tracking all your assets and priorities. There is no obligation in requesting this personal resource that will help you document the legacy
you wish to leave. This questionnaire will be helpful even if you are simply wishing to
see what you have accumulated over the past few years. The information you gather
stays in your possession and remains confidential, and need not be shared with anyone without your express permission.

For a free copy of the Record of Essential Information, simply call Rick Lofgren at 800.366.2682 or email him at .

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Ways You Can Help

How To Find A COTA Family

To search for a COTA family who needs your help, simply go to www.cota.org and click on:

You can then go to the search screen and access information about COTA families, via several different search options. If you need help connecting to a family, COTA’s team of professionals is just an email or toll-free call away. The COTA Team loves to get website inquiries like this one:

To whom this may concern,

Firstly, I'd like to wish you all at COTA a Happy New Year!

I am currently the President of the New York University Chapter of Students for Organ Donation. The main goal of the organization is to promote organ donation awareness and registration. One of our new goals for this semester is to fundraise for a family who is in need of extra funds needed for an organ transplant. Through research we came across your organization and we hope to possibly work with you guys in organizing fundraisers. We would love to sponsor a family possibly in the New York area and, I was wondering if you could help us through the process of finding such a family?

Hope to hear from you soon!

Thank you for your time,

Khushbu

COTA responded to this group with contact information regarding volunteers they can partner with, and families they can raise funds in honor of, in the New York area. This group of students is now reviewing the list of COTA families in their area and will be back in touch with COTA’s staff for more fundraising assistance.

If you need assistance finding out how you can help COTA give hope and make miracles, simply call 800.366.2682 or email your question to

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COTA News

COTA’s Website Gets a Facelift

COTA’s website recently underwent some changes, making it even easier to navigate and easier to learn about ways you can Give Hope and Make Miracles.

The home page update brought four key areas of the website into sharper focus. The change makes it easier to do one of the following:

	Make A Donation -- Making a secure, online donation is fast and easy.
	Find A COTA Family -- Searching our database for the patient/family you wish to support is as simple as clicking this button.
	COTA Partner Login -- Finding resources and ideas for our COTA Partners, like the American Legion, has been streamlined.
	Campaign Resource Login – Looking for new campaign ideas and resources is a quick click for community volunteers to log in and gain instant access.

Visit www.cota.org today!

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COTA Fast Fact

The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) provides:
Stewardship of the Funds and Non-Profit Status
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association is a national, non-profit organization. COTA is responsible for the oversight of the activities of community fundraising campaigns, and serves as steward of funds raised. Funds donated to COTA are deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.

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