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Her brother, Harold, had a major blood clot to the lungs, which caused a massive heart attack and stroke, and left him with no brain function at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.
Nigh said the topic of unplugging the ventilator and organ and tissue donation was inevitable. Her brother’s son was supportive of organ donation, but some family members were fearful that the body would be disfigured and had doubts.
She said the family reached a compromise — donate any organs that would not affect viewing for an open-casket funeral service. A liver and two kidneys were harvested.
In the end, her brother died at the age of 62 on Dec. 28, 2006. He helped three people from Illinois, Wausau and Beloit with his organ donations.
Nigh, a registered nurse for the Vernon County Health Department, has become an advocate for organ donations and had worked with dialysis patients on waiting lists for kidney transplants or who have experienced organ failure.
She gave a presentation April 3 during an organ donation awareness program at a downtown La Crosse Rotary Club luncheon.
“No one to my knowledge has ever discussed organ donation or end-of-life decision-making with Harold, so his wishes were not readily apparent, and we were left guessing,” Nigh said.
She said her brother was a giving person who always lent a hand to someone.
“I wish I would have had the conversation with my brother about organ donation,” Nigh said.
Nigh said she wants people to have that discussion about organ donation with family members and their physician.
She said her family members feel good about their decision today.
“Just because you may be older and may have chronic health problems, you still may have very vital organs and tissues within your body that might help others live,” Nigh said.
“My brother’s legacy of helping others lives on today through three organ transplant recipients,” she said.
To be A donor
What you need to do to make sure your organs are donated:
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com, or (608) 791-8227
