|
Photo Gallery
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Indian River Firefighter's Kidney Donated to Fellow Firefighter's Father
|
Gallery |
|
|
Views: 13
Ingrams & Faulkners @ Memorial Services
Views: 108
Madeleine Overturf – WRDE interviews The Ingrams
Views: 108
Tim Ingram
Views: 121
Madeleine Overturf – WRDE
Views: 91
|
|
|
Story |
|
|
EXCLUSIVE: Indian River Firefighter's Kidney Donated to Fellow Firefighter's Father
Updated: Jan 9, 2019 12:41 AM
By Madeleine Overturf – WRDE
MILLSBORO, Del.- A beloved Indian River fireman is giving back, even after death.
Jason Faulkner was laid to rest on Tuesday in Millsboro with a full fireman's funeral. Hundreds turned out to pay their respects, including Chad Ingram and Courtney Anderson, whose father's life was changed due to Faulkner's status as an organ donor.
Faulkner's kidney was donated to Tim Ingram, a family friend who had been on dialysis for over two years. The two families had dinner just days before Faulkner's passing, so Ingram's need for a kidney was top of mind when Faulkner's organs were harvested. Faulkner's sister Melissa Bixby says giving the Ingrams the kidney just made sense.
"He always was saving somebody," she tells WRDE. "It was able to keep his memory alive and to follow what he had signed up for, what he believed, and we just followed his beliefs and his wishes."
Both families were told the match was unlikely to work, but in the end it was a perfect match. Ingram underwent a successful kidney transplant on Wednesday, something Faulkner's father Donald considers divine.
"When you have a friend and it's a perfect match, what's the chances?" explains Faulkner. "That had to come from someplace else, from upstairs."
The Ingrams say the donation has given them a second lease on life and that it exemplifies Faulkner's spirit.
"Jason was a pillar to his community," says Chad Ingram. "To his country he served as a U.S. Marine, a dispatcher, a firefighter and even after death to continue to give is just unbelievable."
Both the Faulkners and Ingrams view the successful donation as a sign of something good happening despite a tragic situation. Both families urge everyone to become an organ donor.
"It has done things now for my family that I could never repay anyone, other than to: if something happens to me, I am a donor," says Chad Ingram.
|
|
|
