Lawton child lives on through organ donations

For the Krusinsky family, one incredible tragedy for them became life-saving miracles for four other families.

With April designated as Donate Life month, Central Middle School teacher Larissa Krusinsky shared her story of her daughter’s sacrifice with the community to promote awareness about organ donation and LifeShare of Oklahoma.

“I share the story of my daughter to help others,” Krusinsky said. “I want to get the message of LifeShare out there. I want people to realize that my daughter didn’t just die, my daughter lives on. I look at her death as being a way that she has helped others to survive. Knowing she lives on is comforting.”

Krusinsky’s daughter, Jaedyn, was born with hydrocephalus — a rare neurological disorder that affects the brain. From when she was born, Jaedyn went through multiple medical challenges that came with the disorder.

“She had multiple surgeries at birth, she had a shunt at three days old, she had a feeding tube — just multiple health concerns,” Krusinsky said. “We went through seizures — those were always a possibility due to her hydrocephalus disorder. Jaedyn was born at OU Medical, but I had a great pediatrician here in town. So she would check us out, and if it warranted going up to the city, we would go to the city. So we went back and forth for numerous things.”

In the summer of 2012, Jaedyn had a seizure that Krusinsky knew was different. They went to the hospital, which led to 2-year-old Jaedyn being airlifted to the children’s hospital. Doctors there confirmed “her test results had come back where things weren’t normal.”

“It was just a matter of waiting to see if any treatments worked, if she bounced back — but she didn’t,” Krusinsky said. “After a 12-hour stint, they approached us. After numerous tests, they told us that she was at a stage where they couldn’t do anything else for her. They said there were options. We could rule it as a brain death, and we could look into organ donation. Even though she had a disability, it was still a possibility.”

That’s when LifeShare of Oklahoma came to assist. The nonprofit organization aids families with organ donation, walking them through the extensive steps involved with donation and providing resources for the family. They help the families through the medical tests needed and the entire processes that follow.

“LifeShare comes up and speaks to my husband and I,” she said. “They are not an organization that just automatically assumes ‘it’s the end of life, you have to do something’ and start bombarding you. They’re very sensitive, and that’s something that really impressed me. They were considerate, because it’s such a tough time to make that decision, and they explained the process.”

Krusinsky said there are “many myths about organ, eye and tissue donation” and so many people believe they have to be in perfect health. However, there are many procedures that can be done even if some things aren’t perfect. After learning the process, she reflected on her own past experiences with organ donation, when her friend’s mother needed a heart transplant.

“We spent all of our junior high, high school and college years waiting for her to get that heart transplant, just praying that she will make it,” she said. “It was my first year of teaching, and I remember getting that call from my friend saying ‘Mom got her call, she’s headed to the city … So having that in the back of my head, I knew someone had saved her life that we didn’t know.”

With Krusinsky and her husband in agreement, they ran all the tests and determined Jaedyn was a candidate. The toddler’s heart, kidney, liver, intestines and eye tissue were donated to four individuals, from a 9-month-old to a 43-year-old.

The 9-month-old recipient, Jeremiah, received Jaedyn’s heart. Jeremiah is now 12 years old, and Krusinsky said it’s been encouraging being able to see Jeremiah grow up. She said through leaning on their faith, Krusinsky and her family lived by the belief that with every tragedy comes a testimony — and through this testimony, they have been able to minister to so many.

“Seeing Jeremiah grow allows me to see my daughter flourish,” she said. “It’s crazy. He has quirks like her — his tastes, his favorite foods are like her favorite foods. Some of his actions and mannerisms are things that she would do even at a young age, I still see into him now. So it’s a way for us to realize that she lives on.”

The experience has motivated Krusinsky to continue sharing Jaedyn’s story through ministry and volunteering with LifeShare. This year, City of Lawton Mayor Stan Booker presented Krusinsky with the National Donate Life Month proclamation to recognize her “incredible act of generosity” and her inspirational “strength, compassion and unwavering spirit.”

To learn more about LifeShare of Oklahoma and how to support the organization, visit lifeshareoklahoma.org.