Lauren’s Story
Chillon Caraway
Caroline Fulghum, LSU student
The Gifted Life Podcast is excited to share a story about a life saved.
Read a special guest blog from LSU Manship School of Communications student, Caroline Fulghum.
Register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor at registerme.org
Lauren Troxclair is a kinesiology student at LSU and contestant in the Miss LSU 2020 pageant.
Her chosen platform focuses on bringing awareness to organ donation and the fact that becoming a donor gives people the ability to save lives. Organ donation is close to Lauren’s heart because her father is an organ recipient with quite a remarkable story. Organ donation and LOPA have played a huge part in Troxclair's life, and she was eager to share her father’s story:
Donald “Donnie” Troxclair Jr., was born with type one diabetes and diagnosed at just three years old. He grew up giving himself four insulin shots a day to manage it, however, the disease was taking a toll on his organs, especially his kidneys. When Lauren was five years old, her father got into a life-threatening car accident, causing all of his organs to fail, “his organs were not performing anywhere close to the way they needed to,” Lauren said, “the doctors told us to plan a funeral.” Donnie was in ICU for a month, fighting for his life, and remarkably able to pull through. However, since the accident induced kidney failure, the door to Donnie becoming an organ recipient in the near future started to open.
Lauren with her father, Donnie
About three years later, when Lauren was eight years old, Donnie’s health began to decline even further. “He couldn’t make it from our parking spot to the entrance of the grocery store without stopping for a breath,” states Lauren. Diabetes continued to take a toll on Donnie, eventually causing neuropathy, which often caused him to lose feeling in both his hands and feet. Donnie had been on the waitlist for a new pancreas and kidney for only nine weeks when, on Father’s Day of 2009, the Troxclair family received “The Call” that every family on the waiting list hopes for: there was a possible match in New Orleans. This was remarkable to the Troxclairs because people can be on the waiting list for 3-5 years to receive a kidney. Donnie received both a pancreas and a kidney that same day, and he and his family could not be more thankful for this new chance of life. “Six months later we were at my aunt’s wedding, dancing on the dance floor together” Lauren states, with a huge smile on her face. “There are no words to be able to thank the family that was his hero.”
Lauren and her dad, Donnie
Organ donation plays a huge role in Lauren’s life, and she is eager to tell her father’s story to anyone willing to listen. So when Lauren decided to compete in Miss LSU, it was a no-brainer when choosing a platform. She knew she needed to spread more awareness about organ donation. Her main focus within her platform is to debunk all of the misconceptions that often cause people not to be organ donors. “I want to continue what LOPA does but on LSU’s campus,” says Lauren. Although Miss LSU 2020 has been postponed, this has not deterred Lauren’s drive to be an organ donation advocate on a now remote campus. The gift of life that Donnie received is nothing short of inspiring, and there are endless narratives filled with similar experiences of people who have received organ and tissue donations.
April is National Donate Life Month, which celebrates and honors donors, their families and the lives saved by these heroes. The Gifted Life Podcast is a great way to witness more organ and tissue donation success stories.
Specifically, Episode 27 - Donate Life America shares inspiring stories, ways to get involved with LOPA and it even introduces a mother who received her second chance of life.
Written by Caroline Fulghum. - LSU Student - Manship School of Mass Communications