“I was the blessed recipient of cornea tissue that changed my life unlike anything previous or ever will. I now see the world through more grateful eyes and it shall never be looked at the same again.” – Shelly Cleek, Corneal Tissue Recipient

It is always a beautiful thing to hear a recipient’s story after regaining their sight. Thank you, Shelly, for your kind words and heart for your donor family.

Dear Special Messengers of Hope: 

As a recent recipient of a donated cornea, I can attest to how such a gift can be life changing. 

Following my procedure, the doctor said she had some good and bad news. She indicated I couldn’t have received a better graft, but it came from a young child, which makes this letter particularly difficult. 

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I would like to share a few things about Etta, first I will say we always called her Beth. She told me when she was a little girl that she thought Etta was a old person name so she wanted to be called Beth. We all found that hilarious, she always had a sense of humor and she was a very loved woman. She always put others first and she loved her two children more than anything.

Beth loved to fish she enjoyed being outside working in the yard. She loved flowers, butterflies and hummingbirds and of course cardinals! She loved working in a garden and cooking. She enjoyed cooking special dishes for holidays and my favorite was her sweet potato casserole! She enjoyed family get togethers. She always made you feel special on your birthday. She always made a big deal of it because she wanted you to know how much she loved you!

She was proud to be a donor, and I am proud of her for that I am happy she continues to help others.

Richard “Rick” Robinson Richardson, Jr.

03-31-1949  to  04-15-2022

Rick would be so very pleased that his corneas gave the gift of sight to someone in need.  He was a loving husband, very proud father of two sons, both of whom served in the military. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge and served several years as a Shriner clown.  He was truly a people person who never met a stranger.

– Darlene “Dolly” Richardson, Widow of Rick Richardson

When Barry was in his early 20s he was in an accident by a drunk driver. He had severe brain trauma and had a 5% chance of living through the night after immediate brain surgery. As you know he lived many many years after. He was such a fighter. He taught himself how to walk and write again. Built his little small house on his own , but of course with little help here and there from family and friends. He has lived on a fixed income since his early 20s but he had such a giving heart and was always helping those less fortunate. Ive never known anyone with such a big and caring heart.  If someone was hungry he would feed them. Even if he didnt have much to give them he would give them something. He had such a sense of humor and was always the joker and the flirt. He NEVER ever met a stranger. When I would take him to the doctors office he had to speak to everyone there in the waiting room and always finished with “God Bless” ! I am going to miss him tremendously! My heart really hurts and I feel a huge void in my life but I do know he is with my mama in heaven and that gives me some comfort. Also, gives me some comfort knowing that even after he was gone he was able to help someone else. This is something that I know he would have wanted.  Barry lived the biggest part of his life with severe mental and physical handicaps but was always very adamant about doing things himself. 

Hi, I wasn’t sure how to start this letter. It’s a hard one to write. It’s been about 4 months since we lost my husband and dad to our 13-year-old girl. I wanted to write the ones whose lives will be changed by our sacrifice to let them know we are happy about the donation he was able to make. I wanted to tell you a few things about him…

He was a loving father and husband.

He loved Clemson Football even during their losing streaks.

He was a good provider and loved cooking for us, especially on special occasions.

He loved to travel around the area and would get us up at random times just to go to places like the beach and mountains.

He was strong and stubborn and that got him through so much in his life. 

He was old-fashioned in so many ways.

He loved watching shows like Andy Griffin and old Westerns and anything about cars and motorcycles.

Years before he passed, he loved riding motorcycles but as time went on, he could no longer do that.

He was a hard worker sometimes too hard, he loved to be on the go and sometimes that was a bad thing. He told me I taught him to enjoy the small things and made him to be a better man. He made me better too.

My advice on how to honor what he has given you is to enjoy your life to the fullest. Enjoy the small things in life and take time for family and friends because it can be taken at a moment’s notice. We lost him very quickly and wish every day we could have more time with him. Life is too short.

With Blessings for your future.

-Your donor family.