Madison Paige Barrett, 20, of Forestville, died August 1st, 2018 at ECMC as a result of a car accident. Madison and her family made the ultimate gift, and numerous lives were saved and enhanced through organ and tissue donation. Since this time Madison’s family has been very committed in helping to further the Unyts mission across WNY. Recently her father Jim worked closely with our Family Services Department on a very special Christmas gift for Madison’s mother. It took a lot of work and coordination from Buffalo, NY to Boston, MA, but the result is incredible. Please watch as Madison’s mother receives this amazing gift (make sure sound is on!). ECMC Buildabear
Posted by Unyts – Donate Life on Friday, December 21, 2018
There are gifts which come with a price tag and there are those which are priceless and have no price tag, for Chalis Barrett, her 20-year-old daughter Madison was her greatest gift, but sadly she lost her to a tragic car accident earlier this year in August 2018.
Chalis works as a nurse in Gowanda, New York and listens to her patient’s heart beats day in and day out, but it was a paradox for her, that she could not hear her own daughter’s heartbeats in her final moments
“That was the one thing I always regretted was not listening one last time,” Chalis said.
Thankfully there was some hope for the Barrett family during Christmas when due to her husband James and the Unyts organ donation organization, she got a very special surprise.
Chalis has shared the video to her Facebook, which shows her opening her very own, rainbow-colored Build-A-Bear and is reduced to tears to what was inside it.
An emotional Chalis said, “I heard my daughter’s heart beat, but not only that, I heard it in somebody she helped,” She said that organ donors can save “up to 100 people” and so she and her husband hoped that by donating Madison’s organs they could inspire many to become donors.
This is such an incredible story of hope and faith and reinforces the fact that through organ donation, not only do you save people’s lives but also your loved ones continue to live through them.