July 2023: Second chances don’t come around often. So, when Leander Smoot was given the opportunity to donate one of her kidneys to save the life of a friend, she felt compelled to do the right thing. “When I first read her email, I definitely went back and forth,” said Leander, who lives in Pensacola […]
https://lifequestfla.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Leander-Smoot.jpg356336Kim Gilmorehttps://lifequestfla.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lifequest_logo.pngKim Gilmore2023-07-24 17:51:172023-09-25 15:14:18A Second Chance to Save a Life
March 2023: Alex DeFrank had a megawatt smile, a silly sense of humor and an infectious love of life. He danced offbeat, sang off-key and was forever pulling pranks on family and friends. Those closest to Alex, delighted in his tender side too. His generous spirit and reliable nature put others at ease. And who […]
February 2023 When the doorbell jarred Cody and Kathleen Hampton awake at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2018, they felt sick to their stomachs. Kathleen pulled open the front door to find two Leon County sheriff’s deputies standing on her porch. Her heart sank. “We all know what that means,” Kathleen said, solemnly. Over […]
June 2022: On April 5, 2017, Jerry Rosenberg of Jacksonville, Fla., boarded a cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale with his cousin. Jerry loved to cruise and was headed first to Bermuda, then to Ireland, England and France. Their departure from the port was delayed by five hours due to a bogus bomb threat, but once underway, […]
April 2022 By Kim Gilmore, LifeQuest Public Education Coordinator Selfless love begins and ends with sacrifice. Those of us who work with organ donor families have a front-row seat to the most extraordinary acts of generosity: parents who are so inspired by their only son’s choice to donate his organs that they are willing to […]
https://lifequestfla.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Jody-Hair-gives-Katie-Walton-flowers-at-Mosley-HS-1-2022-NDLM-1.jpg422396Kim Gilmorehttps://lifequestfla.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lifequest_logo.pngKim Gilmore2022-04-22 14:51:512022-04-22 14:51:51Ambassadors of Life Refiring, Not Retiring
January 2022: When she is asked how to pronounce her name, Casana Fink’s reply is a little fruity. “It’s Casana, rhymes with banana,” she quips. Ask the 23-year-old University of Florida graduate about her passion for promoting organ, eye and tissue donation as the reigning Miss Gainesville 2022, and she gets real, fast. “Parents just […]
https://lifequestfla.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Casan-Fink-Crowned-Small.jpg314320Kim Gilmorehttps://lifequestfla.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lifequest_logo.pngKim Gilmore2022-01-14 12:55:562022-01-21 09:53:00Organ Donation is Personal to Miss Florida Contestant
January 2022: “Zach was the one that if you were on the side of the road, and you looked like you needed help, he would stop,” said his mother, Michelle Trevellick, R.N., a case manager for the Healthy Start Nurse-Family Partnership at UF Health Jacksonville. Zach Rabon was the type of man who walked into a room […]
A Second Chance to Save a Life
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreJuly 2023: Second chances don’t come around often. So, when Leander Smoot was given the opportunity to donate one of her kidneys to save the life of a friend, she felt compelled to do the right thing. “When I first read her email, I definitely went back and forth,” said Leander, who lives in Pensacola […]
Fueled by Kindness
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreMarch 2023: Alex DeFrank had a megawatt smile, a silly sense of humor and an infectious love of life. He danced offbeat, sang off-key and was forever pulling pranks on family and friends. Those closest to Alex, delighted in his tender side too. His generous spirit and reliable nature put others at ease. And who […]
Free-spirited Girly-girl
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreFebruary 2023 When the doorbell jarred Cody and Kathleen Hampton awake at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2018, they felt sick to their stomachs. Kathleen pulled open the front door to find two Leon County sheriff’s deputies standing on her porch. Her heart sank. “We all know what that means,” Kathleen said, solemnly. Over […]
From Fatty Liver to Sassy Liver
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreJune 2022: On April 5, 2017, Jerry Rosenberg of Jacksonville, Fla., boarded a cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale with his cousin. Jerry loved to cruise and was headed first to Bermuda, then to Ireland, England and France. Their departure from the port was delayed by five hours due to a bogus bomb threat, but once underway, […]
Ambassadors of Life Refiring, Not Retiring
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreApril 2022 By Kim Gilmore, LifeQuest Public Education Coordinator Selfless love begins and ends with sacrifice. Those of us who work with organ donor families have a front-row seat to the most extraordinary acts of generosity: parents who are so inspired by their only son’s choice to donate his organs that they are willing to […]
Organ Donation is Personal to Miss Florida Contestant
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreJanuary 2022: When she is asked how to pronounce her name, Casana Fink’s reply is a little fruity. “It’s Casana, rhymes with banana,” she quips. Ask the 23-year-old University of Florida graduate about her passion for promoting organ, eye and tissue donation as the reigning Miss Gainesville 2022, and she gets real, fast. “Parents just […]
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes
/in Articles /by Kim GilmoreJanuary 2022: “Zach was the one that if you were on the side of the road, and you looked like you needed help, he would stop,” said his mother, Michelle Trevellick, R.N., a case manager for the Healthy Start Nurse-Family Partnership at UF Health Jacksonville. Zach Rabon was the type of man who walked into a room […]