Mike Dunnam came into this world quickly walking, talking and always finding adventure. When Mike was ten, he lost his only sibling when his 16-year-old brother Jeremy was in a fatal car accident and became a tissue donor. It was something he also wanted to do. "He didn't understand why anyone would not choose to be a donor," said his mother Valerie. At age 22, like his brother twelve years before, Mike died in a fatal car accident on Sept. 5, 2009. "I continue to experience that 'Mother's Pride' and know that others will remember him and live healthier, happier lives because of him," affirmed Valerie.

Mike's Story

Mike came into this world quickly walking, talking and always finding adventure. He was full of love and had no fear of trying new and exciting things such as racing four wheelers, traveling to Thailand, riding his motorcycle (his passion), and falling in love. He graduated from Ocean Corporation, a school where he learned underwater welding. He enjoyed a year of working offshore and shared many stories of the beauty of being so far out in the ocean. He also enjoyed his friends and loved to hang out around the fire pit, just being with each other.

When Mike was ten, he lost his only sibling when his 16-year-old brother Jeremy was in a fatal car accident and became a tissue donor. "It was then that Mike and I really talked about organ and tissue donation and what it all meant to us," said his mother Valerie Fourtunia. "It was something he also wanted to do. He didn't understand why anyone would not choose to be a donor."

When he was in high school, Mike tore his ACL in a basketball game and was blessed with a donor ligament to repair his knee. Again, the family was touched by the generous gift of tissue donation.

At age 22, like his brother twelve years before, Mike ("Mikey" to his mother) died in a fatal car accident on Sept. 5, 2009. "It amazes me, how in such a horrible tragedy of losing my son, what a beautiful and heartwarming feeling can come by knowing he continues to touch others lives in such an incredible way," said Valerie. "It is a loving gift of healing and life. Tissue donation enables me to know that my precious son Mike's legacy goes on. I continue to experience that 'Mother's Pride' and know that others will remember him and live healthier, happier lives because of him."