It was the third time Heather Mudrick had stepped inside Ruby Memorial Hospital since her husband Mark died there in 2017.

 

On Feb. 21, she attended a National Donor Day luncheon hosted by WVU Medicine and the Center for Organ Recovery and Education, also known as “CORE.”

 

Not only a guest, Heather served as the speaker for the event which noted a record year for organ donation. In 2019, 36 WVU Medicine patients served as organ donors, helping to save 113 lives at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

 

Though the numbers were cause for celebration, Heather believes they are surprisingly low. Yet, she truly understands what a difficult decision it is to sign off on organ donation during such a devastating time in one’s life.

 

She addressed those in attendance, sharing her experience and her heart with them.

 

“I just told them our story – and why I did it,” said Heather, referring to her decision to donate Mark’s heart, lungs, kidneys, corneas and tissue. “The problem is that even though someone designates himself as an organ donor, it is the family who ultimately makes that decision.”

 

Mark had been a registered organ donor, so when he was placed on life support following a fall which resulted in fatal head trauma, CORE – with whom WVU Medicine partners – sent a representative to talk to Heather, asking if she was honoring Mark’s wishes by signing off on organ donation.

 

She remembers vividly how overwhelming it all was for her and their seven combined children. 

 

“A family has been through a traumatic event and is trying to process this whole tragedy and someone shows up and is asking so many questions,” she said. “They can be pushy, but it is such a time sensitive process.”

 

Heather remembers feeling so torn as to what she should do. Her husband was dying. She wanted to be with him. But she also wanted to fulfill his wish to give life to others.

 

“I knew it’s what Mark wanted and I wanted to honor that,” Heather said. “It was one less decision I had to make.”

 

As she answered the meticulous questions that followed, she was doing it for Mark. Two and a half years later, she realizes it was also for her, their son, Mark’s three daughters and Heather’s three daughters.

 

The second time she entered Ruby Memorial Hospital after Mark’s death

was for a second meeting with Donald Ott, the man who had received Mark’s heart and given him another chance at life.

 

At that meeting, just about a year ago,

Donald presented Maddox - Mark and Heather's son - with a teddy bear with Mark's heartbeat. 

 

The family had first met with Donald in Pittsburgh, hearing that heartbeat for the very first time through a stethoscope placed to his chest. 

 

“I would have never thought to record Mark’s heartbeat," Heather said. 

 

Donald is blown away, forever grateful and in awe of the Mudricks' love and generosity. He has received quite a gift, he said. But Heather said Donald is a gift to them. She said they have gained a whole new family. 

 

They stay in touch with Donald, keeping tabs on family activities – like his fishing trips with his grandson - and health news. 

 

“Donald has reached the two-year mark, so he is off the anti-rejection medicine,” Heather said.

 

Once in a while, she will receive a message from Donald, letting her know that Mark is still with them. 

 

A recent text asked if Mark had liked to eat sweets. Donald had developed a craving he hadn't had before. 

 

Meeting a donor recipient isn’t a simple process. There is a lengthy protocol that includes a series of two-way communication and mutual agreement of both parties.

 

Heather has started the process with recipients of Mark’s kidney and lungs. She hopes to also meet them someday.

 

Though she was very nervous about speaking in public about organ donation for the first time, it was an honor to share with those who gathered Feb. 21 at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

 

The first time Heather stepped inside Ruby Memorial following Mark’s death was in April of 2019 for the dedication of a donor wall. Mark’s name is listed. He was one of just 21 donors through the hospital’s organizations that year.

 

Heather said that is not enough. She has made some suggestions which might make the process a little easier on donor families. She has also made it clear that following through with her husband’s organ donations was truly a good decision.

 

She encourages everyone to not only register to be an organ donor, but to make those wishes known to family members and ask them to honor those wishes should the time arise.

 

Feb. 21 came along with plenty of nerves and emotions. Such has been her life for the past two and a half years. Though she says she’s just doing her best to take care of her family, I see it differently. I see her make selfless decisions all the time. She delights in teaching children to dance at her dance studio. She adores her children and all children. I’ve seen her scoop little ones up in her arms; both parties in pure delight. I’ve seen her venture outside of her comfort zone to bring happiness and hope to others. I've seen her open her heart and her home to those she encounters along her life's journey. In my eyes, Heather is teaching her children how to graciously handle life's hardest encounters, how to face and deal with tragedy and the terrible feelings it brings, but to also find the good in bad situations and look for ways to bless others. 

 

Though Mark will forever be part of her own heart, Heather has found happiness in another relationship. She and Jason Campbell, who came to town a couple years ago to start making faith-based movies, were at first work colleagues, then good friends and ultimately became a couple. They will be married in July of this year.