Recently my colleague Jacqui Tricarico and I went to the New Jersey Sharing Network 5K It's a great event, it's an inspiring event.

At the event, Jacqui and I spoke to a whole range of people involved in organ and tissue donation but one person in particular that you're gonna wanna meet is Lorie.

Jacqui interviewed Lorie.

Now Lorie, Lorie's son, Tyler, I believe he was 21, passed away in 2019.

Tyler was an organ donor, gave the gift of life to three people, gave them that gift of life.

They are here because of Tyler and also countless other lives were impacted by Tyler's gift to them.

Jacqui talks with Lorie, a compelling important conversation about organ and tissue donation.

- Uplifting Music.

- I'm Jacqui Tricarico on location at the New Jersey Sharing Networks 5K here in New Providence, New Jersey.

And I am so honored to be joined by Lorie Rodimer, who is the mother of Tyler, who gave the gift of life.

Lorie, thank you so much for talking with us today.

So first, we have to learn about Tyler.

Tell us about your son, Tyler.

- Oh, he was a great kid.

He was 22.

He had just graduated the prior year from East Stroudsburg University and had a great career in criminal justice, and he worked for Hudson Farm Club, which was an outdoor sportsman's club.

And he was kind of working his way into being there full, well, he was there full-time, but he was kind of gonna get a career there.

And it would've been beautiful 'cause he wouldn't have had to work a day in his life.

- He loved it.

- He just loved being outside.

Yeah, great kid.

He was an Eagle Scout, only child.

Great kid.

- Love of your life and-- - Yup, love of my life.

- And in 2019, as a mother, a parent's worst nightmare.

- Worst nightmare.

- Happened to you.

- Yes.

- And your husband.

- Yes.

- Talk about that day.

- Yeah, I was in bed actually and he, you know, he got up early that morning.

He gets up early every morning to go to work, and was with his father in the morning, having their coffee and off they went.

I got a call from one of his buddies and I thought, you know, "Good morning, Brody, what are you doing?"

And, he said, "Mrs. Rodimer," he says, "Tyler had an accident."

And when he told me they were airlifting him to Morristown, I thought, "Oh my god."

I said, my immediate reaction was his head.

And sure enough it was.

So, it was a horrible day.

Didn't know if he'd make it through the night.

And that dear boy, he lasted two months in the ICU.

Many surgeries.

We always had hope that everything would turn out.

And one day, actually it was on his birthday, March 4th, one of the doctors came in and he said, "You know, Tyler may never wake up."

We're like, "Are you kidding me?"

So, there's a lot of painstaking conversations with doctors, and clergy, and your family, and you know, what do you do?

But the bottom line was, he would not have wanted to live the way he was living.

So, it was a terrible decision for a parent to make.

But it was when we had to make.

- And during that time, when were you approached about organ and tissue donation?

Because what I know is that he did check that box on his license.

- He did check that box.

- And you didn't even remember that or think about that.

- I really didn't.

- Yeah.

- Actually, that was a horrible thing too.

You know, there was a new doctor, part of the trauma team, and he came in one day and asked me if I had been approached by the Sharing Network.

And of course, as a mother, I didn't know what the Sharing Network was.

And then, of course the light bulb goes off, saying, "Oh my gosh, do you mean organ donation?"

And he said, "Yes."

And I thought, "Are we there now?

Is that where we're at?"

And a nurse came in that night in her street clothes and tried to make it right and she said, "This is not how we operate."

And from that point on, I mean, I was all over it.

I mean, the Sharing Network had been so supportive and anything we needed, and they were great.

They were really great.

- Knowing that Tyler had made that selfless decision-- - Yeah, in high school.

- All those years ago, in high school.

- Yeah, yeah.

- How did that make you feel?

Did it make it a little, just like that little bit easier for you to move forward with his wishes?

- For me, it did.

For my husband, it did not, he struggled with it.

My husband was not an organ donor on his license.

I was, and actually, when Tyler came home from high school, he said to me, they were doing their driver's ed.

- Yeah.

- And he said, "Are you an organ donor, Mom?"

And I said, "I am."

And he said, "What about dad?"

I said, "No, I don't think he is."

And he asked him and he wasn't.

And I said, "So really, it's your choice.

You decide what's right for you."

You know what, it's a beautiful decision to make.

And as a parent, we could have chosen not to do it, but it was just an easy, it was easy.

Help somebody out.

- Talk about who he helped.

- Oh my gosh.

- Who did he help?

- He helped two women with his kidney donation, both kidneys, and a man with his liver.

And then since then we found out that he helped two people with genetic disorders with his heart valves, and 16 women with his skin donation.

12 of them, women with mastectomies that needed skin to heal.

That's just beautiful.

It's a beautiful legacy he left, for me, you know, to honor.

When you're in this terrible group of people that lose their children, which I am, a lot of people don't have a beautiful story and I do.

I have a legacy to honor and I do this every year.

And some of those people come and they, it's just, it's awesome.

- And the New Jersey Sharing Network has become a family for you.

- They're family to me.

Oh sure.

- Yeah.

There's been a lot of ups and downs over the past couple of years.

- Oh, sure.

- Describe that and just how important they've been in your life.

- You know what?

You try to make something good out of a tragedy and they're there to help you do that.

And they hold your hand.

I didn't even know what the walk was.

Somebody, we came two weeks, no, two months after Tyler died to the first walk.

I think there was 10 of us.

And after that, it was like all-in, 'cause these people were, they're just the most beautiful people you'll ever meet.

They're genuine.

They'll do anything for you and they're so supportive of your mission and your journey, really.

'Cause it's a grief journey, it doesn't ever end.

You know, you remember every day.

- Of course.

- I'm able to talk about organ donation every day to everybody.

I talk about him and that's part of my story.

So, it's awareness and it's a beautiful story to share.

- Yeah.

And so you said 10 people on that first walk.

How many now?

It's "Tyler's Tight Lines".

- "Tyler's Tight Lines".

- And I know you're up there at the top.

- He was fly fisherman.

- Yes.

- [Lorie] Which is where the tight lines came from.

- [Jacqui] Beautiful.

- [Lorie] His buddies came up with the name the first year, 'cause I didn't know.

And, I think this year we have over 100 people.

I think we're one of the biggest teams this year.

- [Jacqui] Yeah.

I think I saw you third or fourth on that line, on the website.

- Yes.

And you know, we're pretty up there in the rankings for how much money we've made, which is awesome.

- [Jacqui] Yeah.

How's that make you feel, and your family and friends?

- It shocks me every year because, you know, the first year we made $2,000 and the next year we did maybe eight and then we went to 13.

I'm like, "I'm never gonna get past that."

This year we have over $24,000.

- That's amazing.

- It's just mind boggling to me.

- That's incredible.

- Yeah.

- Lastly, I know that recently you did get in touch with one of the families, one of the gentlemen that received one of Tyler's organs.

Talk about that process, what that was like for you and if you feel ready to be able to talk and meet that person because I know it's different for every family and every person who's going through this grief journey.

- So when we originally, we originally wrote letters to all three of the recipients and heard back from two, the two women from the kidneys.

And they were kind of generic letters.

They were, you know, blessed that Tyler did what he did, but I think they were overwhelmed by it too, I think.

And never heard from the liver recipient.

And then all of a sudden, actually, I went to Pasadena to celebrate Tyler on the float, the Donate Life float this year.

- Oh, yes, mm hm.

- And when I came back, one of the people from the Sharing Network called me and she said, "You're not gonna believe it, but you got a letter from the liver recipient."

And it was a gentleman that, I think he said he was 72 when he got the liver, yeah, the liver, and he was 78 now and he said he has I think seven kids and 25 grandkids.

And since he got the liver, he got to see, I think three or four of his grandchildren born.

And he said if it wasn't for Tyler, he wouldn't have been here to do that.

And I just think that's, oh my gosh, I wanna meet them so bad.

- Yeah.

- So it's my turn now to write a letter to them and express that and I'm going to do that.

I just haven't had a chance.

- Yeah, no, that's incredible.

And I look forward to hearing about it from you and that experience with meeting him.

- I'm sure that'll be a very emotional day.

- Of course, of course.

- But beautiful.

- Yeah, yeah.

Well I'm so glad that we can use this moment to celebrate Tyler and his amazing selfless gift-- - [Lorie] Ah, thank you.

- To so many people that he touched, that he saved their lives and helped in their journeys, in their health journeys.

So thank you so much for speaking with us today.

- Oh, you're welcome, thank you.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

Valley Bank.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

NJM Insurance Group.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

The North Ward Center.

And by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ.

And by Meadowlands Media.

- I am alive today thanks to my kidney donor.

I am traveling and more active than ever before.

- I'm alive today thanks to my heart donor.

I'm full of energy and back singing in my church choir.

- I'm alive today thanks to my lung donor.

I'm breathing easy and I'm enjoying life'’s precious moments.

- They are about 4,000 people in New Jersey waiting for a life-saving transplant.

- Donation needs diversity!

- For more information or to become an organ and tissue donor, visit NJSharingNetwork.org.