Quinn's Story

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As #DonateLifeMonth comes to an end, we feel that it's time to share our little superhero's story.  Quinn turned 1 on February 25th. We took the day off to spend with her and spoil her - Build-A-Bear, Chick-fil-A, and the Cleveland Aquarium. We had the best day. 

We celebrated her birthday with our closest family and friends the next day. We went all out for her Harry Potter party - themed food and drinks, decorations, wands, and photo backdrops. Quinn was "The Chosen ONE" - we had a blast and we'll never forget it. 

Two days later, on Monday afternoon, she got sick. I won't go into details, but after going to the ER and her pediatrician throughout the week, we were told it was just a bad virus, and that she would be better by the end of the week. By Friday morning, we were at Akron Children's ER and were admitted to General Pediatrics Friday afternoon. 

Friday, they ran all the tests - urine cultures, blood cultures, viral panels, blood tests, CTs, and ultrasounds, but it was all coming back negative. They knew she had an infection, but didn't know where, so she was placed on IV antibiotics while in the ER.  

Saturday morning, while prepping her to be transported to the Pediatric ICU, we were told that a blood culture returned a devastating result - Haemophilus Influenzae, a bacterial strain that leads to bacterial meningitis. Quinn was vaccinated, but there are rare strains that are not covered by the vaccine. Unfortunately, this was one of them. 

By Saturday evening, we were given the unbelievable news that the damage to her brain from the infection led to a severe stroke. The damage was irreversible. Our perfect, happy, amazing, big strong girl, was gone. 

After what felt like a million conversations with various doctors, nurses, chaplains, and social workers, we were informed that Quinn was a good candidate for organ donation. Knowing how important organ and tissue donation is, we made the decision to have her listed as a donor. By Tuesday evening, she was matched for the following 3 life-saving organ donations: 

Heart - The recipient was a child her size 

Liver - The recipient was a child her size 

Kidneys - both kidneys were transplanted into a teenager or adult (2 perfect baby kidneys = 1 healthy full-size kidney) 

Our hearts and lives are shattered at the loss of our girl. Quinn lit up every room she was in, and always had a smile on her face. Words cannot describe our pain and disbelief, but thanks to our superhero, 3 people (2 children) were saved, and will go on to live happier, healthier lives. We pray that one day, we'll have the opportunity to meet these people and their families, so we can tell them all about Quinn, and how amazing she was and still is. We are extremely thankful for the medical professionals and staff at Akron Children's Hospital, everyone at Lifebanc, the organ and tissue donation organization, and our family and friends who have been here for us and for Quinn.

 We would give anything to have our girl with us, and no amount of time would have ever been enough, but we're thankful for the time we were blessed with. We were gifted with the attached medal from Lifebanc because "Every hero deserves a medal." We miss you and love you with everything in us baby girl. We cannot wait to see you again. 🙏💪💙 #donatelife

Please share and consider signing up to be an organ donor. Our daughter's story does not end here. Quinn will live on through Tara, family, friends, and countless others including the 3 individuals she was able to help save with her donation of life. 

We are setting up a non-profit organization named Quinn's Cause in her honor. The organization will work to fundraise, collect donations, and volunteer to make an impact in our local community. We have already donated to the Parks and Recreation Department of Plain Township to help purchase a piece of playground equipment at Veteran's Park. 

If you have not already done so please consider donating to Quinn's Cause or to us directly.

Venmo & PayPal: @QuinnsCause

https://www.venmo.com/code?user_id=3693257275999627125

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=K5ZTT75GZMMRG

#donatelife #donatelifemonth #quinnscause #ourbigstronggirl #ourhero #Hero #Lifebanc #AkronChildrensHospital