CELEBRATION, Fla. – One year after they lost their son, the Lee family, owners of Celebration Sanitation, have joined Central Florida’s Organ Procurement Organization, OurLegacy, in honoring the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation by advocating for organ donation on their latest service truck. The newest addition to the fleet is wrapped with messaging to honor their late son, Dylan Rowe, as an organ donor hero, and has messaging to inspire the community to register as donors.
Tammy Lee and family suddenly lost their son Dylan, 27, in October of 2021. Walking through unimaginable loss the Lee and Rowe families learned Dylan could make life possible for others through organ donation. When a person is not a registered organ donor on their driver license, the decision to donate is left with the family. Remembering the kind of young man Dylan was, the Lee family knew he would have wanted to help someone in need. Their decision to say “yes” to organ donation was clear. Dylan became a hero saving the lives of three people through the gift of two kidneys and liver.
On Thursday, the family joined the AdventHealth Celebration and OurLegacy clinical teams who helped care for Dylan and their family to dedicate the newest service truck to Dylan and all who make the gift of life possible.
“The hospital staff, nurses and doctors at AdventHealth Celebration were incredibly gentle and caring with our son, Dylan. They all came together for an “Honor Walk,” a ceremonial lining the hallway to honor our hero as we walked with him down to the operating room,” said Tammy Lee, mother of Dylan Rowe. “I am so thankful for the care teams at AdventHealth Celebration and the support we received from OurLegacy. We felt Dylan was honored in every step of the donation process.”
“Giving life to others through the miracle of organ donation starts with a donor hero and depends on a team of skilled medical professionals to steward this precious gift to others,” said Doug Harcombe, CEO for AdventHealth Celebration and the Osceola market. “I am proud to work alongside compassionate clinical staff and partners who could give the Lee family a glimpse of hope and light in their darkest moment.”
The Celebration Sanitation service truck, similar to one on which Dylan once worked, is wrapped with a message to raise awareness and encourage members of the community to register as an organ, eye and tissue donors when renewing their driver license. Celebration Sanitation employees joined the Lee family to honor their friend, Dylan. Together, they hope to raise awareness, increase registrations, and inspire the community to start a conversation about organ donation with the ones they love.
Once registered, donors have the power to save eight lives through vital organ donation, give two people the gift of sight through cornea donation and provide healing and mobility to 75 more through tissue donation. Today, more than 100,000 children and adults are awaiting a life-saving transplant and 5,000 of those individuals live in Florida. You can register as a life-saving organ, eye and tissue donor when renewing your driver license or online today at DonateLifeFlorida.org