Just two weeks prior to the auto accident that took her life at the age of 11, Janeen Ganahl told her mother that if anything happened to her, she wanted to donate her organs. "She was a very loving child and always thought of the needs of others," recalled her grandmother Sharron. Loving and creative, at nine Janeen wrote a poem, "I Am The Rose," that a teacher submitted in a contest. Of 277 entries authored by 4th through 12th graders, hers was one of 18 selected. Said Sharron, " Our precious Rose is now living in the hearts of those she touched, for nothing loved is ever lost—and she was loved so much."

Janeen's Story

Just two weeks prior to the auto accident that took her life at the age of 11, Janeen Ganahl told her mother that if anything happened to her, she wanted to donate her organs.

"She was a very loving child and always thought of the needs of others," recalled her grandmother Sharron. "She wore out her Bible, was very concerned about the needy and the poor, and befriended the picked-on or handicapped children. She said she was going to Heaven in 2000 and advised her two younger sisters to get right with the Lord. She was a very special gift from God."

She was also very creative and talented. When Janeen was nine, she wrote a poem that a teacher submitted in a contest, and of 277 entries written by 4th through 12th graders, hers was one of 18 chosen to be read onstage and published in a book:

I Am The Rose
I am the rose
soft and pink
waiting for the wind to come and play
for only one day.

I am the rose
gentle and soft.
I wait for my petals to bloom.

When my petals bloom
they will lift up to the sky
and look as if they will fly.

My leaves are growing strange everyday
and other flowers I see
are growing bigger and bigger
as my color fades away.

Coincidentally, the woman who received her heart is named Rose, and Janeen's heart is working so well that more than ten years after her transplant, Rose was taken off all anti-rejection medication, said Sharron.

Sharron recalls an inspirational card that Janeen had in her room, which read: It is the most important thing of all...the love in one's heart. "She gave her loving heart every day to those she met along life's way. Janeen was love and love is a thing of beauty, like a rose within the soul. Our precious Rose is now living in the hearts of those she touched, for nothing loved is ever lost—and she was loved so much."