As we mentioned earlier, we just held our first Do It For Dillon allergy, anaphylaxis, and epinephrine training at our church in Jefferson, WI this past Saturday. We moved this training to later in the day because we were invited to attend a very special organ donation remembrance event that same morning. This event was the Miles for Maddog Awareness Walk down in Frankfort Square, IL (not too far south of Chicago). Maddie “Maddog” Grobmeier was a runner and a very active girl and when she was seventeen, she was involved in a very serious car accident. Although the car was totaled, she survived the crash with only relatively minor injuries. Because of this “close call” she told her parents that if something tragic was to happen to her, she wanted to donate her organs so that some good could come out of the tragedy. Little did they know that only three months after the accident and one day after her 18th birthday, Maddie’s life would tragically be lost to an asthma attack. Her parents honored her wishes, and Maddie became a Donor Hero. You can read more about this at their website .
In her memory, her parents, family, and friends began a memorial run and walk to use her life and story to raise awareness about asthma and also about the need for and value of organ donation. They heard about Hannah through Versiti, and they wanted to honor her in the donor memorial section of their event, and they also invited us to carry a flag with other donor families and recipients during the opening ceremony of the event. We were very happy to be part of this event, and we had a great time! Everyone at this event was affected by organ donation in some way. We spoke with a recipient who appeared to be in his sixties who had been given the gift of a heart from his donor. Since the donation, he not only had his life saved, but he also began getting into shape and running. We learned that he had just returned from the Transplant Games in Denver, CO. where he earned several medals. We also met a lot of donor families, especially donor moms. It was a great time to connect with other people who understand our loss on a personal level, and to be able to share with them about how we are healing and using Hannah’s Story, through Hannah Helps, to make a difference in the lives of others.
Also, the work we do with allergies is relevant to them for two reasons. The first is because Dillon’s Law was adopted last year in Illinois, and it became official law at the beginning of this year. For anyone unfamiliar with Dillon’s Law, it allows anyone to take an approved training course, use the certificate of completion from that course to get their own epinephrine delivery system, and to be able to use it anywhere they believe that someone is having an anaphylactic reaction with “Good Samaritan” protection. We are excited that Illinois adopted this into their law, but as I contacted the Illinois Department of Public Health, I learned that the practical logistics of this legislation has not been completed yet. So, I am working with the IDPH on being able to turn this from legislation on paper into the practical, life-saving opportunity that it is meant to be. We hope that very soon the IDPH will have this worked out on their end and hopefully, very soon, all Illinois residents will be able to access their own Epi.
The second reason that Dillon’s Law is important is because epi is not only lifesaving for anaphylaxis, but it is also used in severe cases of asthma! Our training does not include the asthmas aspect of this yet, but we are working on getting the asthma community on board with our work with allergies and epi. In cases of anaphylaxis, multiple systems of the body can be affected. These include skin, heart, respiration, and gut. In asthma, the primary system affected is the respiratory system. Epinephrine can open those airways during an asthma attack just like it does in anaphylaxis, and it is often used as a first line of defense in severe cases.
We were saddened to hear about Maddie’s tragedy, but we are very thankful for her parents, family, and supporters who are actively using their loss in the lifesaving work of organ donation! Thank you, Frank and Cyndi, for your invitation for us to come and to share in your daughter’s special event and thank you Julie for reaching out to us and sharing Hannah with your “Maddog” community! It was a special day!!
We are blessed.
P.S. We can’t do this alone. If you would like to donate to Hannah Helps:
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/5609126
Venmo: venmo.com/u/hannahhelps19
Your support is needed and greatly appreciated!
Thank You!
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