Baltimore artist Amy Sherald owes her every breath, step and stroke of her paintbrush to Kristin Lynn Smith.
"Unfortunately, the end of her life meant the beginning of mine," Sherald said. "My joy to be alive always stands at attention to her family, their grief and their loss."
Sherald trained for triathlons, running 50 miles a week. Then, she suddenly found herself in a hospital on a waiting list for a heart transplant.
Smith, a young mother and dental hygienist, was in the hospital, too, because of a drug overdose. She didn't make it.
According to the organ procurement organization Living Legacy Foundation, one out of every six organ donations in Maryland comes from an individual who died from a drug overdose, which is nearly twice the national average.
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At least these dopers are good for something.
ReplyDelete9:23 until you've delt with an addiction it would be nice for you to just keep your mouth shut. That was someone's child who was caught in the grip of something really big and difficult to come out of
ReplyDeleteI feel this is a wonderful story. Last month my ex wife and the mother of my children passed away from a drug overdose unfortunately they couldn't find anyone to use her organs. It's nice to hear it worked out for someone and even with her disease she was able to give back
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