“In the fall of 2009, I began having pain and swelling in my right knee,” said Richards. “By January 2010, I was unable to ski or play tennis.”

Soon the pain in her knee began impacting her everyday activities.

“I found that the long hours standing and working out with my team were becoming increasingly painful,” said Richards. 

After going through physical therapy, Richards still found no relief from the constant pain.  As a result, she opted for surgery to repair what was thought to be a torn meniscus.

“During the surgery, my doctor discovered a hole in the meniscus,” said Richards.   “During a subsequent consultation, he told me that the only cure would be a tissue transplant.”

Richards planned to delay the surgery until after her long-awaited family vacation to Alaska.  After an increase in pain and swelling however, she decided to move forward with the process. Richards was advised to stay near home so when a match became available, she could head into surgery.  While with her team in the Pocono Mountains, Richards got a call saying a donor had been secured.

“My team and other coaches knew I was waiting for a call and gave me a big send off as I left to return home.” 

Due to the intricate nature of Richards’ procedure, she was unable to put weight on her leg for six weeks.  During those six weeks, she wore a brace that extended from her ankle to her upper thigh. Richards used the brace as a way to start conversations about tissue donation, even conversing with local doctors.

After six weeks, Richards removed the brace and for the first time put limited weight on her donated meniscus.

“I had absolutely no pain and was able to walk unassisted within two days,” said Richards.

After rebuilding her strength through regular exercise, Richards returned to playing tennis in the spring of 2011.  That same summer, Richards and her family made it to Alaska for their long-delayed vacation.

“We took our postponed trip to Alaska for three weeks during that summer and I was able to hike, horseback ride and raft without worry,” said Richards.

Because of the gift of donation, Richards has a new approach to life.

“I feel I was given a huge gift from the tissue donor and want to respect that gift by doing my share to stay healthy” said Richards.

Richards continues to speak openly about organ and tissue donation to friends, family and the cheerleading team she once coached.

“I hope that seeing me benefit from the generosity of a stranger would set an example for them and their families to dothe same,” said Richards.

After making a full recovery, Richards continues to be grateful for the gift. “If I was able to speak to my donor, I would be humbled by their selfless contribution,” said Richards.  

 “I’ve always believed that the measure of a person’s life is not the job they held, the “titles” they’ve earned, or the outward trappings of “success” that they have acquired, but rather the lives they have touched along their journey.”

“Everything I’ve done since the transplant and all that’s to come are because of the tissue donor family. The allograft gave me a second chance to fulfill an unrealized destiny.” May Chen, fresh tissue recipient

“If I was able to speak to my donor, I would be humbled by their selfless contribution.” Barbara Richards, meniscus recipient

“We pray for that family and realize that while our life normalizes, there will always be an empty seat at their holiday tables. There are a lot of people in my life that are aware of that, and I am not hesitant to share the story.” Margie Mayfield, ACL recipient

“I believe the body is the human’s earthly vessel. Our deceased loved ones are hopefully in a wonderful place; their tissue is no longer needed by them. I honor whoever is selfless enough to understand that.” Connie Hilger, ACL recipient

“I’m thankful to be alive. I want to try new things. I see life in a whole new way.”Manuel Salazar, skin and bone recipient

“This may not be a surprise, but I am a full anatomical donor. If something were to happen to me, I plan to pass this gift on to others.” Kurt Person, ligament recipient

“Since the transplant I have been able to play and run around a little more. For this I am grateful to you and your loved one. My family and I will remember your act of kindness and generosity.” 12-year-old  Devin Katacinski, skin recipient

While testing the brakes on an all-terrain vehicle as part of his occupation, Person crashed, severing the four main tendons and ligaments in his shoulder.

“I was told a break would have been easier to fix,” said Person. “After a month of immobilized healing, it became clear that a total reconstruction would be needed to restore the arm and shoulder function.”

What Person didn’t know was that somewhere, someone who had lost a loved one had donated tissue, making the reconstruction of his shoulder

“I was at home recovering when a postcard arrived in the mail,” said Person.  “Up to this point, the only information I had about the surgery was that it took twice as long as expected.”

The postcard he received told Person that someone donated the tissue that was used to repair his shoulder and “What a gift,” said Person. “I will remember this gift each time I throw a ball, ride a bike or just try to keep up with my active family.”

After less than six months, Person’s rebuilt shoulder is nearly 100 percent back to normal.

“My only limitation is that my fastball is not as fast as it used to be,” said Person.  He can, however, throw a ball with his sons again.

“This may not be a surprise, but I was a full anatomical donor,” said Person. “If something were to happen to me, I plan to pass this gift on to others.”

While awaiting a lung transplant, 20-year-old Helene Campbell decided to take action and increase donor awareness. Campbell and friends focused on a Twitter campaign with a specific goal in mind: getting Justin Bieber to take notice and spread the word to his 16-million followers.

Well they got Justin’s attention, and with his support via Twitter, a Canadian organ registry received more than 500 new registrants within just a few days. Check out the full story here.

The organization also recovered more bone and joint restoration tissue grafts, allowing roughly 48,000 people to regain mobility and active lives after disease or trauma last year.

Donor Alliance has also launched Donate Life Colorado and Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages, where it will bust myths surrounding donation, and answer questions from the public.

Ryan never met a stranger and his friends said his constant smile was their favorite part about him.  They could be having a down day, but after being with Ryan they felt good.  He would introduce his mother to his friends this way:  “This is my Mom.  She’s cool!”  He was fun, funny and never used dark humor to run someone else down. He was comfortable in his skin, confident and okay with himself and who he was.

Ryan Joseph Landers was born in Louisville, KY, March 24, 1988.  He was the middle child, younger brother to Chris and older brother to Kelly.  He was 6 when the family moved to Cape Girardeau, MO.  Three years later the family settled in Springfield, IL.  It wound up being the place Ryan called home for the longest period in his life, although Louisville was always home and he’s buried there in Resthaven Cemetery about a mile from where the family lived the first six years of his life.

Ryan excelled in art and later his teacher told him when he was graduating from high school that he should consider a degree in art education.  He was great with kids and one of his part-time jobs was a monitor in the after-school program at a private church school.

His passions began with skateboarding, followed by guitar lessons and several guitars and amplifiers, and ultimately cars.  At various times Ryan owned up to 7 cars.  He would make modifications on them regarding air flow and exhaust systems.  He repainted the interior trim on his ’98 Hyundai Tiburon, which still sits in the family driveway.  His project car was “Delores”, an ’89 Honda Civic, and it was his primary commuter car to work and school.  His pride and joy was the 2000 Honda Civic SI, with the V-Tech engine, which he and his mother bought in December, 2006, and he had his accident in 4 months later.

It is not known what caused Ryan’s car to veer into the oncoming traffic.  There was no excessive speed, bad weather, use of cell phone, smoking, drugs or alcohol.  Witnesses said he simply drifted over the line.  He was on his way to work a little past 4:30pm on Good Friday, April 6, 2007.  He had dropped off his sister and girlfriend within the hour before the crash.   The two-car, head-on collision totaled both vehicles and broke the heel of the oncoming driver.  Traffic was tied up on the two-lane road for hours.  The first responders struggled for 45 minutes to remove the roof of Ryan’s car and extricate him from the wreckage.  One fireman was able to climb inside the mangled car to administer oxygen and speak to Ryan to calm him down, although he was never fully conscious after the accident.

There were other injuries, but Ryan was declared brain dead within 24 hours.  Gift of Hope was on the scene in the hospital and was available to discuss organ and tissue donation when Ryan’s family was ready.  The recovery process took place on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007.  The idea of being a donor was Ryan’s idea.  He had spoken with his mother about it, coincidentally, not long before his accident.  When she protested about the desecration of her baby’s body, he just said:  “Mom, what sense does it make not to?”

Of course, there is no desecration of the donor’s body.  Ryan’s gifts of organ and tissue presently have helped 61 recipients in at least 12 states and Korea.  Five more items await distribution in AlloSource tissue banking facilities in Denver and San Diego.  While one might say that Ryan’s work is finally done, it isn’t.  Ryan’s kind of legacy will go on and on for generations in the people’s lives that he saved or improved.  They will go on to have families and/or to remain alive and connected with their families.  The ages of Ryan’s recipients range from 4 months to 83 years of age.  They live in Illinois, California, Utah, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Missouri and New Jersey, as well as Korea.

“Enjoy every sandwich” was Ryan’s credo.  “Giving Without Reward” was the sermon title of a pastor in Springfield, IL, on the morning of November 13, the National Donor Sabbath.  Becoming a donor is the most selfless thing an individual can do, and it can have the most significance of anything an individual will ever do.  Who knows how many lives are touched by a single recipient’s life-saving or life-enhancing transplanted organ or tissue?  It fans way beyond the individual donor or recipient.  Then, multiply that times the total number of recipients, and the numbers could be staggering.

Further, Ryan has a scholarship in his name at Lincoln Land Community College, where he was a second-semester freshman in the automotive tech program when he died.  To date, there have been four winners of the Ryan J. Landers Memorial Scholarship in Automotive Technology.  His primary instructor had the idea and contributes funds to it as does Ryan’s family.

Ryan’s family could not imagine anything helping them more to get through their loss and grief than knowing of the powerful gifts of life that Ryan gave to so many others.  Families try to teach their children how to live, but Ryan taught his family how to die.