Suburban News West Edition - February 15, 2015

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Kimberlie Donley

Mark Swanson

Lic. R. E. Salesperson

Lic. Assoc. R. E. Broker

(585) 329-7848 C

9 Main Street, Brockport, nY

February 15, 2015

Issue No. 7

(585) 750-2906 C

www.westsidenewsny.com

West Edition

Distributed to Bergen, Clarendon, Holley-Murray and Brockport-Sweden

Tournament of Roses parade a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience Participants from this area part of Donate Life float by Kristina Gabalski Living kidney donor Laurie LoMonaco of Brockport describes her experience participating in the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, as “ ... a whirlwind of emotion.” LoMonaco traveled to Pasadena just after Christmas and walked with the Donate Life float in the parade on New Year’s Day. Also traveling to Pasadena were Laurie’s best friend, Mary Guyette, and Gates Orlando as well as their family members. Gates, a former Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Amerks hockey player, received the heart of Mary’s husband, Paul, when Paul died suddenly in early 2013 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Laurie had just donated a kidney altruistically when Paul Guyette was stricken. Laurie’s generosity had inspired Paul to mention to his family, shortly before his death, his desire to be an organ donor. Laurie and Mary have become good friends with Gates since meeting for the first time at the end of 2013. The Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network sent the trio to represent upstate New York at the Tournament of Roses Parade. Laurie shared details of the trip to Pasadena with the Suburban News/The Herald. “I met so many tremendous people. Donate Life pretty much took over the Pasadena Sheraton,” she says. The Monday evening of the week of New Year’s, Gates and Laurie attended the Rider/Walker dinner. “The Gala was incredibly moving,” Laurie says. “It was the first time all of the floragraph families, walkers and riders were together in one room. There was not a dry eye.” The float featured floragraphs of the organ donors, including one of Paul Guyette. The theme of the 2015 Donate Life float was “The Never Ending Story,” and featured butterflies emerging from storybooks to symbolize the enduring power of organ, eye, and tissue donation and transplantation.

The Donate Life 2015 float in the line of march. Provided photo.

Front row: Terri Switzer, Laurie LoMonaco, Mary Guyette (holding floragraph of husband, Paul Guyette); back row: Emma Guyette, Jenna Guyette, Mitch Newman. Terri is Mary’s sister, Emma and Jenna are Mary and Paul’s daughters. Mitch is Laurie’s boyfriend. Provided photo. Laurie says float judging took place on Wednesday, December 31, and even that was a moving experience. Participants were assigned their float positions. “Imagine my surprise when they told me I was assigned ‘1CS,’” Laurie says. She found out that meant she was first person, camera side. “I was floored,” Laurie says. Participants were not allowed to speak to judges unless they were spoken to. One judge told Laurie she wished she had a button like the one Laurie was wearing. It was a “Living Donor-Rose Parade 2015” button. “The judge had donated a kidney to her father ten years prior. I took my button off and handed it to her and she completely broke down and hugged me,” Laurie says. Parade Day on January 1 started very early. Riders and walkers had to be in the Sheraton lobby at 5 a.m. They took a shuttle to Von’s Grocery, which sponsors a continental breakfast on parade morning. Laurie says they enjoyed the meal, which included mimosas, before arriving for line-up at the float on Orange Grove. The parade stepped off at 8 a.m. Pacific time and Laurie says it took an hour and a half before the Donate Life float moved. The 5.3 mile long parade route was filled with emotion,

she says. Laurie walked along side the float as a living donor and Gates rode on the float as a transplant recipient. “I never experienced anything like it,” Laurie says. “People love the Donate Life float. They stood and cheered and yelled and clapped and cried. I was fortunate as a walker to be able to interact with the crowd. I was high-5-ing and hugging people.” Laurie was very surprised when a woman asked for her autograph - an incident which resulted in some good-natured teasing from Gates Orlando and John Brockington - a Green Bay Packer Hall of Famer and Rookie of the Year in the 1970s. Brockington was riding on the float next to Gates. He received a kidney donated by his wife, Diane. Diane walked behind Laurie alongside the float. Laurie says Gates asked her, “... are you sure she didn’t want mine or John’s autograph?” I still take some ribbing from Gates over that autograph request. “The riders and walkers are known as the Class of 2015. We became very close with our groups,” Laurie continues. “I know for a fact that each of us connected with others, including floragraph families.” Laurie says she met a family from the Chicago area - Larry and Vivian Lefferts - who volunteer each year during parade week and who lost their son, John, very suddenly in 2004 to an aortic aneurysm when he was in his early 20s. Laurie wore a button which had John’s picture on it and Lefferts family members watching the parade saw Laurie wearing it on TV. “I promised I would wear it every time I spoke or attended an event for organ registration/donation,” Laurie says. She wore it recently for the unveiling of a new organ registration media campaign and it was again shown on TV. “The parade was a beautiful, once in a lifetime experience,” Laurie says. She and her boyfriend, Mitch, hope to go back sometime in the future as volunteers for Donate Life during parade week. And Laurie says her organ donation odyssey will continue. “Next up, Transplant Games 2016 in Cleveland,” she says.

Mary, Gates and Laurie at the Gala a few days prior to the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. The event gathered together families who had a loved one depicted in a floragraph on the parade float, as well as walkers and float riders. Provided photo.