OKLAHOMA CITY (December 30, 2020) — Two Oklahoma organ donors and one healthcare hero will be representing their state in the 2021 Tournament of Roses TV Special. Mariee Mena and Kolby Crum will be honored as organ donors, and Luci Pham will be recognized as a Healthcare Hero.
Every year, LifeShare of Oklahoma helps sponsor the Donate Life Float in the Tournament of Roses Parade to spread the message about organ, eye and tissue donation to a nationwide audience. This year, in lieu of a parade, the Tournament of Roses will have a floral sculpture that honors donors and donation health care professionals.
LifeShare is the organ procurement organization in Oklahoma responsible for the recovery of organs and tissue for transplant purposes.
The 2021 Donate Life Rose Parade floral sculpture, “Community of Life” features a vibrant floral honeycomb built by bees, sharing the important message that we are stronger when we work together as a community. Twenty-one hexagonal memorial portraits of donors are interwoven within the honeycomb, symbolizing the life donors give through organ, eye and tissue donation. Much like the families and donors who have given the gift of life, bees epitomize a harmonious community that helps and benefits others. Just like busy bees, donation healthcare professionals devote every single day to make donation and transplantation possible; and the names of six health care professionals will be featured within the floral sculpture.
This year’s Donate Life Rose Parade experience will include a total of 27 participants from all around the nation – three of which are Oklahomans.
This January, Oklahoma will be represented by these individuals:
Kolby Crum – Organ Donor
Kolby always cared about others. He was never into sports but wanted to be on a team and joined cross country. He liked it – and worked hard to excel. Kolby finished in the top 2 percent of athletes in the 2019 season. Not only did he work hard – he also ran alongside others to encourage them.
Kolby also enjoyed his community of friends who played board and card games together. He often played “Magic the Gathering” with a group of friends from around the city.
He was a silent leader and was hard working and encouraging. Younger students looked up to him, and for a good reason. He cared for and loved others deeply. Kolby aspired to help others in life and had plans to attend college on a cross country scholarship in pursuit of a degree in psychology.
When he was getting his driver’s license, he registered to be an organ donor understanding through that action he could give hope and life to others. Just months later, a tragic event occurred which shook the Oklahoma community. Kolby and his cross country teammates were struck by a vehicle driving more than 80 miles per hour in a school zone. Kolby was one of three who lost their lives in the tragic incident.
After the incident and all measures to save Kolby’s life had been explored, it was no surprise to his family to learn that he was a registered donor. Since Kolby was 18 and was registered, his parents supported his final wish to give to others by donating his organs and carry on his legacy.
Kolby will be honored in one of 21 floragraphs on the Rose Parade floral structure. A floragraph is a floral portrait made out of organic materials, such as rice, farina, coffee, flax seeds and cinnamon.
Mariee Mena – Organ Donor
Mariee was a star softball player at the University of Oklahoma and was full of life. She was the daughter of two very proud parents, a loving sister, a caring cousin – and she greatly cared about her friends and family.
Mariee was dedicated in everything she set forth in. As a child with plenty of energy and as a part of a family who enjoyed sports, her family put her in softball.
By the time she reached high school, Marie was participating in four sports and established herself as a star player in softball, volleyball and tennis. Her performance and awards at Escondido High School were so impressive that she earned a scholarship to play softball for the University of Oklahoma. Mariee’s first season as a Sooner came in 2003. It was just the beginning of a long and productive career.
Mariee enjoyed her four years on the OU Softball Team so much that she decided to continue in the sport and become a softball coach like her dad. In addition to coaching, Mariee became a tutor and was soon hired as a teaching assistant.
One evening, there was a knock at the door at the Mena residence in California, and two police officers asked to speak to the parents of Mariee Mena. That’s when her family knew something was wrong, and soon learned Mariee was involved in a motorcycle accident.
The Mena family traveled to Oklahoma and learned that Mariee would not recover from her injuries. But her mother praised the care that her daughter received. “The nurses were wonderful, they took such good care of her.” The entire family was permitted to stay with Mariee in the ICU room designed for two visitors. Over the course of the next three days, all of Mariee’s friends got to see her, play music and sing for her, and say good-bye. This outpouring of love was very comforting to the Mena family.
Mariee will be honored in one of 21 floragraphs on the Rose Parade floral structure.
Luci Pham – Donation Health Care Professional
Luci Pham, of Oklahoma City, has always been fascinated by science. Originally wanting to be a marine biologist, she realized her fear of open water would hinder her from succeeding in the field. She decided to pursue a career in respiratory therapy and worked four years at a hospital. One day while working, she encountered a LifeShare staff member who explained donation to her. It was fascinating to her and made an impression on her work life.
Luci has worked at LifeShare since November 2016 when she started as an Organ Recovery Coordinator. She is now an Advance Practice Coordinator, taking administrator calls and performing special procedures as needed. She is passionate about the mission of LifeShare, exemplifies a can-do attitude even when the job gets tough, and cares about her teammates and the donation community. For Luci, working at LifeShare is not only a meaningful career, but also a calling to be a part of an organization that is much bigger than could be held in a building.
Since working as an Organ Recovery Coordinator at LifeShare, she has grown an even bigger passion for donation and enjoys the aspect of her work that allows the donor’s families and friends a form of closure from a tragic situation. Another reason she loves her chosen career is the recipient families, friends and colleagues who have more days or years with their loved ones because of donation.
One of Luci’s memorable moments at work was when she experienced a tough and tragic situation with a pediatric donor. In that case, there was not a dry eye in the room as all recovery staff and transplant surgeons were impacted by the situation. They were able to recover a tiny heart which saved another child’s life. Luci grieved for the donor’s family as they navigated the waters without their child. Shortly after the recovery, the transplant surgeon was able to send a video of the heart beating in the recipient’s chest.
Luci’s name will be one of six names displayed on the Donate Life Floral structure to honor Donation Health Care Professionals.
“In a year of uncertainties, the need for lifesaving transplants continues. Transplants would not be possible without our generous donors and their families, who, in the midst of tragedy as they lose a loved one, find the courage to save lives,” Jeffrey Orlowski, President and CEO of LifeShare said. “These individuals honored in the floral sculpture will not only be representing the importance of donation, but will serve as representatives of Oklahoma and the approximately 600 citizens of the state who are awaiting a lifesaving transplant.”
LifeShare encourages everyone across the state to tune-in to watch the Rose Parade Special on New Year’s Day.