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‘Thankful’: Mother says 11-year-old son left legacy behind with organ donations

CHARLOTTE — Melissa Brown has left her son Ryder’s room as if he were still here. And in many ways, he still is -- in her heart, in her memories, and, through others, all around the country.

“He woke up happy, went to bed happy, he was just a very happy kid, a very well loved and happy child,” says Melissa Brown. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more with him.”

It’s been more than a year since Brown lost her bright, beautiful boy at just 11 years old.

“He had the best smile and the absolute best laugh. His laugh was just amazing,” Brown shared.

Brown is an emergency department nurse and clinical supervisor with Atrium Health. She was at work on Dec. 12, 2021 when Ryder’s home health nurse called. Ryder, a twin, was born premature, and had visual and hearing impairments and cognitive delays.

“I got a call from his home health nurse that he was unresponsive. Ryder did have a seizure disorder, so I assumed it was a seizure,” she said. She assumed he’d be OK, she said. “I’m like, ‘just get him to me.’ And she’s like, ‘no, you don’t understand.’ I was like, ‘what?’ And she’s like, ‘He doesn’t have a pulse.’”

He was rushed to the emergency room -- her emergency room.

“Unfortunately, because he had been without oxygen to his brain for that long, he was brain dead,” Brown said. “So I was very thankful that I got to say goodbye to him while he was still there.”

In the midst of unimaginable heartbreak, Brown made the quick decision to donate his organs.

“His heart went to a 4-year-old in Tennessee. His liver went to Pennsylvania to another pediatric patient,” she said.

His kidneys, pancreas, lungs, skin, bone marrow and corneas were all donated.

“I’m very thankful that other people get to live on because of him,” Brown shared. “That even though I lost him, he did good. And it’s what he would have wanted.”

Ryder’s picture now hangs in the emergency department. She credits her co-workers’ incredible support in her ability to come back to work, and in getting through this whole process, from the moment Ryder was brought into the ER.

“It was extremely difficult to go back, to walk in and be in that area, and even treat kids like him has -- even to this day -- is extremely difficult,” Brown said. “I think it makes me a better nurse and a better person. I think it makes our department better and stronger.”

Brown has become a big advocate for organ donation, which she knows is a deeply emotional decision. But she says it’s one that not only helps others, but keeps your loved one’s legacy alive.

“That helps me a lot, you know, knowing that he’s beating away somewhere in Tennessee right now,” she said. “And somebody can see -- because he had visual impairments. It was neurological vision loss, but he never really saw the world the way that we saw it. And now, there’s somebody that sees through his eyes.”

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, there are over 100,000 people on the national transplant waiting list. For more information on how the process works, and to learn about how you can become a donor, click here.

“Every second he is missed. So I hope he’s proud of us, you know?” Brown said. “And, yeah, he was just very loved. Very, very loved. And he was he was just a huge light.”

>> You can also click here to learn about the process or to make a financial donation.

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