Donor Hero

February 19, 1990, is a date permanently etched on the calendar of our hearts. A beautiful spirited brown-eyed baby was born and entrusted to our family. We named him Luke Andrew Abbate. Although, his time with us was far too brief, he would forever change us; leaving heart prints all over our lives. He lived wide open with a deep sense of wonder for the world around him.

Luke was playful and adventurous. But, most importantly, he loved his family and friends. He had an uncanny way of gathering people together for a pick-up game of football, basketball, or baseball. Luke once described himself as open-hearted in a journal he kept for health class. His warm candid charismatic demonstrative nature drew people to him. He was known to reach out to the new kid at school or to the one who felt left out and on the fringes of high school life.

Luke admired his older siblings, Adam, Rachel, and Jon, by emulating the things they did. He was a competitive gifted athlete who played, football, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, and golf. He had a work ethic and a determination to be the best student-athlete he could be. His ultimate dream was to follow in the footsteps of his brother Jon by earning a collegiate football scholarship.

As he matured, he nurtured his growing faith and love for God through his participation in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Sadly, on February 13, 2006, when Luke was fifteen years old and a sophomore in high school, our lives were shattered in a million pieces. Luke was a passenger in a car that careened off the road as a the result of a reckless choice made by a young immature newly licensed driver. Our son sustained multiple life-threatening injuries that claimed his life. He was declared brain dead four days before his sixteenth birthday.

Luke had made the unselfish decision to donate his organs when he acquired his learner’s permit at age fifteen. His youthful perspective may not have fully understood the implications of this decision, yet he had a generous giving heart leading us to believe that this was truly Luke’s wishes. As gut-wrenching as it was, we wanted to honor Luke’s decision and give other people a second chance to live with the real possibility of restored health.

Five people received the gift of Luke’s healthy organs. A young mother of two small children received his heart, another received his liver and pancreas, two others each received a kidney, and a woman in Tampa, Florida received his lung. We had the opportunity to meet Casey, the young mother who received his heart. She graciously allowed us to touch her chest and feel Luke’s heart beating within her. It was a deeply profound moment…

As a result of Luke’s death, our family agreed to publicly share our story. In 2010, The Fifth Quarter movie was released in theaters throughout the country. It is an accurate portrayal of our personal tragedy. It is our hope that in sharing, we have honored Luke’s life; raised awareness to the devastating consequences of reckless teenage driving; given an accurate portrayal of organ donation and its importance; and shown the transforming power of love, faith, and hope in overcoming unthinkable circumstances.