There is so much negativity today in the news and everywhere we look that it is always nice when we can pause to recognize good things that are happening in our community.  I would like to take the opportunity to use this blog to highlight some of the positive events that are happening in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District.

Imagine having only one chance for something.  For Wilmington College senior Galen Carrington, there was only one chance for survival. That scenario included matching with a liver donor with the same exact blood type.

This month, I would like to recognize the Wilmington College swim team for their efforts to promote organ donation awareness.  Driven by Carrington, their teammate, the team led a campus-wide effort to observe Donate Life’s Blue & Green Day Friday on April 19.  The day had special significance for Galen—it fell during the very week he received his life saving transplant.

Galen waited four years before he found his match last year.  When the match was found, he was rushed to a hospital in Pittsburgh, where he underwent a marathon 12-hour surgery, coming away with a new liver and about 30 inches of scars on his body. Amazingly, six months after the surgery, Galen was back in the pool competing.

This story is an illustration of determination and perseverance, which is something we should all strive for in our own lives—even with the odds stacked against us. Equally as inspiring was the support and camaraderie that Galen received from his teammates.  I commend all of these students for serving as such great examples in the Wilmington community, and I am proud to represent them in Congress.

To learn more about Galen’s story, click here.