Lifeline of Ohio recognizes Morrises

A special ceremony was held Wednesday afternoon in front of Upper Sandusky High School to support organ donors.

Lifeline of Ohio recognized the family of Jason and Lauren Morris and their son, Luke, who was saved by a liver transplant on Feb. 27, 2016.

The Morris family raised the Donate Life flag at the USHS flagpole as part of the 10th annual Flags Across America campaign, which raised flags in all of Ohio’s 88 counties.

“We hope this nationwide display of flags will make people stop, take notice and most importantly, take action to sign up as an organ, eye and tissue donor in the Ohio Donor Registry by going online to www.lifelineofohio.org,” Lifeline of Ohio representative Juli Kunselman said.

“This visual and unified statement about the importance of donation reflects the dire need for organ donors.”

Lauren Morris, an English teacher at USHS, also spoke at the ceremony.

“We chose today to raise the flag in Luke’s honor because it was three years ago today that Luke went into emergency resuscitation surgery to save his life,” Morris said.

“Dr. Kate Deans will forever be one of our biggest heroes. She was Luke’s surgeon and went above and beyond her call for us, including saving Luke’s life that awful, dreadful night. She is 100 percent the reason he is alive today and will always be a very special person to us.”

Luke Morris suffered from biliary atresia, defined as a childhood liver disease in which one or more bile ducts are abnormally narrow, blocked or absent.

“Even at his sickest point, he smiled and laughed and was an amazing boy,” USHS Band Director Jason Morris said.

“You never would have known through him that he was sick. We just desperately wanted him to be better and so much of it was out of our hands.”

Lauren Morris said she most of all wanted to thank the donor angel family.

“We don’t know who you are, but we’ve reached out to them and very much hope to hear back from them one day,” Lauren Morris said.

Luke Morris has responded positively to the liver transplant.

“(Luke)’s been doing really well,” Jason Morris said.

“Since his transplant, he’s moved from the third percentile in weight and height for his age to the 90th percentile. He does everything a 3-year-old is supposed to do. He’s amazing.”

Lauren Morris said her family is happy to be ambassadors for Lifeline of Ohio.

Jason Morris thanked everyone who has supported his family throughout their transplant journey.

“Amazing is an understatement for the support we got from the students, from the staff and the community,” Jason Morris said.

“People just rallied around us, rallied around (Luke). We started a Facebook group to keep our family updated and it has over 2,000 people following it wanting to know how he was and how they can help.”

The Facebook group “Luke’s Legendary Liver League” is updated regularly with news on Luke’s progress.

“If you haven’t already, please say yes to organ donation,” Lauren Morris said.

By BRIAN HEMMINGER
Staff writer