MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Friends and family of a 33-year-old patient stood alongside nurses, doctors and staff at Blount Memorial Hospital on May 12 for a special occasion.
They were there to honor Bradley Mainor, whose organ donations saved lives. He was a lifelong resident of Maryville and had been born with hydrocephalus, living his life with neurologic issues and a seizure disorder.
He started getting seizures on May 6 and went to the emergency room. On May 11, his family opted to take him off life support. Afterward, he donated an organ donor and saved the lives of many people, providing some of the vital organs that other patients may wait months or years to get.
The hospital held an honor walk for him, a solemn way to show respect for someone whose life ended but who chose to help others continue living by donating organs. Usually, nurses, doctors and staff line the hallways between the patient's room and the surgical area.
In Mainor's case, more than 80 people showed up. Hospital workers were joined by members of the Maryville community who wanted to honor Mainor as well. The group bowed their heads and said prayers for him and his family before finally saying goodbye as he was taken into the surgical suite.
“I had not seen that at this hospital before,” said Beverly Graham, one of the nurses there. “What a lovely way to send that family our care and let them know how we felt, and then also to honor him as we rolled him along into his next phase of life."
He ended up donating four organs, which can save four lives.