Heath Eiland did it all. He was assertive, held firm to his beliefs, knew what he wanted out of life and was preparing for the future. On May 10, 2011, Heath suffered head injuries from a fall while longboarding; Heath had not been wearing a helmet. "It was not a very difficult decision for our family to agree to donate for life," said Becky. "It was so 'Heath-like.' As painful as it continues to be for our family and his friends, we take comfort in knowing that when God called Heath home, Heath was happy, with friends, doing what he loved to do."

Heath's Story

Heath never let what he didn't have keep him from enjoying what he did have. That is how he chose to live his life. Friends wrote, "Heath made everyone feel like they were somebody," and "Heath's smile brighten up the room." "A middle school teacher told me I should write a book on how to raise boys," recalled his mother Becky. "For a teacher to say that about a student is, well, WOW. He was known for his contagious smile that friends say would brighten up the room or day. Heath packed a lot of living in his 16 years, it is not how long but how you choose to live your life."

Heath's love of soccer, skateboarding and guitar; his faith; supporting his girlfriend, Aria, at volleyball; all while maintaining excellent grades, were among some of the things he did. He worked at balancing everything he enjoyed doing so he would not have to pick one over the other. Heath did it all.

Heath was assertive and held firm to his beliefs. He knew what he wanted out of life and was preparing for the future. He hated being bored; he was always on the go, with something to do, somewhere to go, with friends to make and fun to be had. He made friends with everyone he met and had friends in all grade levels and genres.

A girl in his class wrote: "A bunch of seniors knocked me over and all my stuff went flying. Instead of walking by or laughing like all the others, Heath knelt down and with a smile helped me pick everything up. Then he said with a smile 'The first week is always the hardest, don't worry it'll get better.'"

Heath shared his life with his family. "He would talk to us about things happening in school and his life," said Becky. "In a fifth grade journal of poems he was asked to write something that would describe him by using every letter of his first and last name. For his initials "H.E." he described how he saw life and how everyone else saw him:

Happy all the time.
Even happy when I'm mad.

On May 10, 2011, Heath came home from school proud of his yearbook, and the picture on the second page of him and his friends with their skateboards. Heath then went to skate with his friends. Within an hour Becky received a call that Heath had suffered head injuries from a fall while longboarding; Heath had not been wearing a helmet. He did not survive his injuries, but in his passing he became and organ and tissue donor. Following his donation, his friends successfully held a "Helmets for Heath" fundraiser that helped distribute free helmets and brought awareness to the importance of wearing helmets and organ donation.

"It was not a very difficult decision for our family to agree to donate for life," said Becky. "It was so 'Heath-like.'

"As painful as it continues to be for our family and his friends, we take comfort in knowing that when God called Heath home, Heath was happy, with friends, doing what he loved to do."