Stanyons donate daughter’s heart

Jayne and Peter Stanyon feel their daughter Hollie’s heart beating inside heart transplant recipient Kathy Mossa. Photo by Pat Van Dyke

Canyon Laker Jayne Stanyon loves waking up early and greeting the day with thoughts of her daughters Kirsty and Hollie. She sees their smiles, hears their laughter and she quietly tells them how much she loves them and how grateful she is that they are in her life.

Jayne’s husband Peter takes an opposite approach. In the evening, Peter quietly prays and thanks the Lord for giving them two such beautiful daughters for 20 and 22 years. He thanks God for giving his daughters such loving souls that will be part of his and Jayne’s lives forever.

This may seem like a loving occurrence that happens in so many homes today except for one difference. Kirsty’s life was taken suddenly in 2003 as the result of a traffic collision and 19 months later, Hollie’s life ended as a result of another traffic collision.

Jane and Peter are pictured their daughters Hollie, left, and Kirsty. Kirsty passed away in a car accident one year after this photo was taken. Hollie passed away in a car accident 19 months later. Photo pro-vided by Jane Stanyon

The Stanyons faced a traumatic event twice that could have destroyed their relationship and faith, but instead it has made them stronger and more aware of the need for them and others to gather together and learn how they can make a difference in the lives of people that they have never met.

As the Stanyons were learning about the extent of Hollie’s injuries, there was another woman at Loma Linda University Center in Loma Linda, California, who learned that her heart was failing, and the only answer would be a heart transplant. Both families were about to travel a strangely similar emotional road, just from different directions.

The Stanyons were dealing with the devastating news that their daughter would not survive and were asked to consider donating needed organ tissues to make it possible for others to live. At that same time, Kathy Mossa and her husband Pastor Rick Mossa were praying for a family to graciously consider donating the heart of a loved one who had gone through a recent tragedy.

Hard decisions were made by the Stanyons and soon it was determined that Hollie’s organ tissues would be transplanted into six individuals, one being a four-month-old child who was in desperate need of a liver, and another, Kathy Mossa. As Kathy now states, “I was given life and a tragedy was turned into a blessing.”

After spending six months in the hospital following the transplant, Pastor Rick and Kathy were contacted by the Stanyons. They spent time together and developed a friendship that has lasted for 15 years.

Jayne and Peter Stanyon didn’t stop living after the deaths of their two daughters. They began the Heart-to-Heart Foundation. One of the first missions of the foundation was to connect donor and recipient families together through writing letters. A friend from Canyon Lake wrote letters to each of Hollie’s recipients. When a response was received from the four-month-old baby girl’s parents and it told how healthy she was and how she loved playing with dolls, Jayne and Peter knew that they had done the right thing by agreeing to the donations.

Jayne and Peter are active members of One Legacy/Donate Life, a non-profit organization with the goal of inspiring people to register to be donors of organs, eyes and tissue to save and heal lives through transplantation.

As One Legacy ambassadors, the Stanyons have represented California Donate Life in Washington, D.C. At that meeting, Jayne and Peter spoke with the Surgeon General as he shared his personal story about donations. At that same time, Jayne spoke in front of 1,000 transplant surgeons, neurosurgeons and medical professionals, bringing her personal story of how precious life is to the forefront.

Being One Legacy ambassadors has given Jayne and Peter the privilege of visiting with doctors and nurses on hospital rounds. They have been able to thank them personally for the long hours of work and amazing care that they give their patients every day.

The hospital team is often brought to tears as the Stanyons share their personal healing process and how grateful they are that Hollie was a donor.

The relationship between the Stanyons and the recipient of Hollie’s heart continues. Jan. 16 of this year, exactly 15 years after the homegoing of Hollie, the Stanyons and Mossas met and again spent time together sharing photos and stories about Hollie while praising the Lord for Hollie’s gift of life to Kathy.

As Jayne and Kathy met, they shared a smile and a hug while greeting one another with the words, “One heart, Hollie and Kathy.” At that meeting, Jayne and Peter were able to hear and feel the beating of Hollie’s heart.

When asked about her apparent love for the Stanyons, Kathy answers, “We can never, ever tell them thank you enough for saving my life. Without their selfless act of donating life, I would not be here today. There is no other word to describe the Stanyons than heroes! Most of all, my family and I give our thanks to God. We know that He was with Jayne and Peter when they made the life-changing decision to donate Hollie’s organs.”

The Stanyons express their thankfulness to the community of Canyon Lake. “We are so thankful that our girls were able to grow up in Canyon Lake. We are truly blessed and grateful for our Canyon Lake friends who brought us through the rough times with their love and support. But most of all, we are blessed and grateful to God for allowing us to experience His love and strength and giving us courage to face each day.”

Jayne and Peter’s challenge to others is to know that “Life isn’t meant to be easy. It’s about knowing that everything that happens to you is for a purpose. God created a plan for each of our lives and it’s our job to figure out that purpose.”