Tyler Spann
Type of Donation: tissue and corneas
Age and Location: Age 15 – Lexington, TN
Donation Date: 6/19/2018
Sponsor: Honored by LifeNet Health
TYLER’S STORY
Tyler was a beautiful human who tragically lost his life in a swimming accident on June 19, 2018, in Panama City Beach, FL while vacationing with his parents. He was only 15 years old when he was caught in a riptide and disappeared. He was last seen playing football on the shore. He was later recovered by a search team after a 45-minute search. Tyler and his family had only been in Panama City Beach for less than 24 hours. After being rushed to the nearest hospital he was pronounced dead. Tyler’s mother, Angela, was in shock and disbelief; how could God have no earthly use for the beautiful body that was in front of her tear-filled eyes? His parents received the call about organ donation within minutes and they decided to make the selfless decision to help heal others by donating Tyler's tissue. They believed that Tyler would have wanted to be a donor and help others.
Playing football at the time of his disappearance was no surprise to anyone who knew Tyler. He was a talented athlete and was known for being great at almost any sport. He was over 6 feet tall, and his body was all muscle. He was as beautiful inside as he was outside. The word of Tyler’s passing quickly spread throughout his hometown, Lexington, TN, before his parents even left the hospital. The town came together in so many ways. Funds were collected to help with expenses to fly Tyler and his family home to Tennessee. Instead, Tyler's parents decided to drive home. His family decided that the funds should go back into the community and so The Tyler Spann Scholarship Foundation was formed from these funds to provide scholarships for Tyler’s classmates and help with family expenses. His mother, Angela, became strongly involved with water safety, Donate Life, LifeNet Health of Florida, and several kindness campaigns.
Many activities have since taken place within the last three years since Tyler’s death. Tyler’s birthdays are celebrated with a blood drive and a Donate Life ambassador is always present. The Foundation expanded and began providing free swimming lessons. The city and county mayors of Henderson County proclaimed June 19th Water Safety Day, The West TN Dive Team provides water safety tips and a balloon release in honor of Tyler at the event. The Tyler Spann Foundation also started a crayon drive during each football season. Tyler loved crayons and his football number was #24. The town joined together and over 6,000 boxes of 24 pack crayons were collected for elementary age children within 2 years. Tyler has increased awareness about water safety, organ, eye and tissue donations and kindness. His mother continues to work with different non-profits to educate minorities about the need to register to be an organ donor and she also advocates for wearing life vests.
Tyler would have graduated with the class of 2021 as a member of The National Beta Club. His mother considers his last GPA of 3.5 a gift from Heaven. Tyler was a natural athlete, however, he had to work very hard to maintain a 2.5 GPA. This summer, The Tyler Spann Foundation was recognized for the services it provides at The National Beta Conventional at Disney World. Tyler was one of the first minorities to be recognized as a minority donor by LifeNet Health in August 2020. He has saved lives, showed kindness, and left an incredible legacy. His parents Kimmy and Angela Spann are so proud of him. The world is a better place because God gave Tyler Spann to us for 15 years.