Winter Texan Times

Winter Texan quilts comforting families of organ donors

Details: Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2019 12:00

20191218 img 4212 quilt Quilts made by the Winter Texas Grandmas at Casa del Valle are providing valuable comfort to families when their loved one becomes an organ donor at hospitals across the Rio Grande Valley. Since starting a partnership with Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), the organ procurement organization that provides organ donation and recovery services for families in Central and South Texas, 20 donor families have received a hand-made quilt.

Seven years ago, Don Uecker of Wisconsin was making funeral arrangements for his wife, Darlene, when he asked family and friends to consider making a financial donation in her honor to the Texas Grandmas group. Years later, his relationship with the group and his volunteer work with TOSA led him to connect the two groups to provide something special for grieving families.

“I know she would have liked this,” Uecker said as the Winter Texans worked around him.

The group collects their fabrics from donations, often times even material from families within the park. The size of the group varies as Winter Texans start returning to the Valley for the season, but often the crafts room has about a dozen people working inside on a variety of tasks to complete a quilt.

Each week the group meets and can complete about 300 quilts in an individual season. They donate their quilts to a number of organizations, but say no matter where they go, they’re happy to know they can bring comfort to families.

“It’s nice for us to have a community for us to serve,” said Sandra Johnson of Ontario, Canada. “It’s good for us to hear how they’re used and know they’re needed.”

TOSA recently was gifted another eight quilts to use for upcoming donor cases. Families often drape the quilt over their loved one and take it home with them once the organ recovery is completed. For many families, the personal touch of the quilts provide them solace that feels like home, which is difficult to come by in the hospital setting.

“They’ve been generous enough to make and donate quilts that are given to families of organ donors,” said Edwina P. Garza, TOSA senior communications coordinator.

Texans are encouraged to register at the Texas Department of Public Safety or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. For information on organ donation, community initiatives or to register online, visit TOSA1.org.

Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), founded in 1975, is one of 58 federally-designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States. TOSA is committed to a mission of saving lives through the power of organ donation by providing organ donation and recovery services to Central and South Texans wishing to donate, and to those waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.

First hole in ones

Details: Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2019 10:00

20191218 hole one Dawn Moore gave out some simple, but direct, instructions to her golf ball recently, while playing with her Sunday scramble group at Stuart Place Country Club in Harlingen.

A resident of Sun Valley Village with her husband Phil, Dawn made it clear to her ball what its part was in playing for her that day.

“I just told the ball to go right up there and don’t dilly dally around,” she said. “I hit it and the other lady in our group (Pauline Crist) was standing beside me and she said, ‘I think it went in the hole’.”

When the group, which included Bob Dark and Gary Anderson, reached the green and looked in the cup, sure enough that golf ball listened to the commands and obeyed.

“I was pretty sure it was in the cup,” Dawn said. “I watched it land on the green and saw it roll right up there, straight and pretty.”

It was her first hole-in-one after about 10 years of playing. Her husband Phil added jokingly that he has three. It’s because of Phil that Dawn took up golf while they lived in Lake of the Ozarks in Arkansas.

“When he retired, he started playing golf and was leaving me home all the time. All of our friends golfed too,” Dawn said. “So, I decided to take it up as well.”

She was asked what club she used on the 100-yard par-3. She said it was her driver.

“He couldn’t believe I used a driver,” she said. “I’m not a long hitter. But it still went in.”

After the recent ace, she probably won’t be giving it up anytime soon either. However, with the early Christmas present came an ounce of not so great news upon returning to the clubhouse.

“When we got back, they asked if I was part of the hole-in-one club,” she said. “I wasn’t and they told me I could of won $100. I said that was ok because I probably would’ve just bought drinks for everyone in the clubhouse with it anyway.”