(Charlotte, NC) Julie M. Allred, a two-time pancreatic islet cell transplant recipient, will have the ride of a lifetime on New Year’s Day. That is the day she will join 29 other transplant recipients from across the country on the annual Donate Life float in the Rose Parade.
This is the 11th year that Donate Life America has had an entry in the parade.
It is the fifth time that someone with a tie to LifeShare has been invited.
Julie was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 10. She faced several challenges those first few years, not the least of which were daily insulin injections and a strict diabetic diet. The challenges continued throughout her teenage and young adult years. In fact, her parents were told she would probably not live to be 30 nor would she ever have children.
Against the odds, Julie married and had a little girl while still in her 20’s. However, by the time she turned 40 she was beginning to experience daily episodes of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. She was forced to stop working full-time and was in jeopardy of losing her driver’s license. "I was losing control" she said. "Diabetes was controlling all aspects of my life and that of my family."
In February of 2011, Julie was accepted into a clinical trial to treat Type 1 diabetes by transplanting donor islet cells, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The closest participating center to Julie's Concord, NC home was Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA, the sponsor of her ride on the float.
Julie received her first islet cell transplant in 2011. She received a second one in 2012. Because of the transplant, Julie is now able to live a normal life with her husband, David and their daughter, Meredith.
She is employed as a school nurse with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and part-time with Carolinas HealthCare System as an urgent care nurse. Julie has been an advocate for donation volunteering for LifeShare Of The Carolinas and Donate Life North Carolina. Next year, she is looking forward to participating as a member of Team North Carolina in the 2014 Transplant Games.
In addition to Julie, two other LifeShare volunteers with a connection to donation will be represented on the float. Nicole Siva, a donor mother who lives in Belmont, is celebrating the fact that the woman who received a transplant from her daughter, Taitlyn, has been selected to ride on the float.
Nefeterius Akeli McPherson was diagnosed with secondary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare bile duct and liver disease as a first year law student. Despite her condition, she graduated with honors and passed the Texas bar exam.
In 2011, she received her life-saving liver transplant from 12-year-old Taitlyn Shae Hughes. "It was so gut-wrenching to discover that a child saved my life," she recalled. "Thanks to Taitlyn, I have been able to return to the legal field, enjoy traveling and spend time with family and friends. Organ donation sees no race, gender, age, financial status or social class, and that is a beautiful thing."
Renee Rhodes, a donor wife, will honor her husband, Travis’ memory with a floragraph on the float. In the spring of 2003, Renee and Travis took their son, Taylor, to watch the boat races at a local lake. Shortly thereafter, Travis told Renee he wanted to start racing boats too. After seeing his eyes light up, how could she say no?
Late one night after being out in his new race boat, he told Renee that if anything ever happened to him in the boat, he would have died doing what he loved. Never in a million years could she have imagined how true those words would become just a mere week later.
A couple of years ago Renee and Taylor moved to Asheville where she volunteers with LifeShare. This past summer she was honored to learn that Travis’ photo is one of 72 floragraphs nationwide selected to tower above the Donate Life Float in the 2014 Rose Bowl Parade.
This holiday season, Julie, Nicole and Renee are pleased to join LifeShare in encouraging the public to register as organ donors. People can join the North Carolina Donor Registry at the DMV or online at https://www.donatelifenc.org/register/form.
LifeShare Of The Carolinas is the organ procurement organization designated by the federal government to serve southwestern North Carolina. In addition to facilitating organ transplants, LifeShare also operates an eye bank and recovers tissue for transplants. For additional information, visit our web site at www.lifesharecarolinas.org.
The Donate Life Float made its debut on New Year's Day 2004. Since then, it has become the world's most visible campaign to inspire people to become organ, eye, and tissue donors. For additional information, contact Debbie Gibbs at (704) 512-3303 or dgibbs@carolinas.org or visit www.donatelifefloat.org.
Contact: Debbie Gibbs (704) 512-3303, dgibbs@carolinas.org