2016 Connor Reid Eckhardt

Connor Reid Eckhardt_OneLegacyCONNOR REID ECKHARDT

Organ Donor

Age 19 ~ Roseville, CA

Donated on 07/16/2014

at Hoag Memorial Hospital

Honored by onelegacy.org

Connor was a precious gift of joy and life.  His charm, humor, charismatic personality, generosity and his love for God and his family left an undeniable imprint on every person he touched.  Connor lived life all in with a heart wide open.  He stayed active in outside sports and was a talented musician who shared his life through his music. During the final days of his life, Connor made the selfless decision to become an organ donor. His death was a heartbreaking tragedy for his family, that was only made better by the sight of the helicopters taking his organs to those who needed them. Connor lives on eternally in heaven with Christ, but he also lives on in the lives of four other people through his gift of life.

Connor’s Story

Connor Reid Eckhardt was born Oct. 19, 1994.  Connor was a precious gift of joy and life.  His charm, humor, charismatic personality, generosity and his love for God and his family left an indelible imprint on every person he touched.  Connor lived life all in with a heart wide open.  He loved his family, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding and playing his guitar.  As a talented musician, singer and song-writer, Connor shared his life, challenges and successes through his music.  His tragic and untimely death will never be forgotten.  Connor lost his life from ONE HIT of a “legal” synthetic poisonous drug called spice.  Unfortunately when this was offered, Connor agreed and unknowingly made what ended up being a deadly decision.  We later received the call of every parent’s worst nightmare; “Connor is in a coma in ICU… get here now”.  At the hospital we found our son surrounded with tubes, beeping machines, nurses and doctors tirelessly working to save our son.  On July 16th, 2014 we had to say good bye to our precious 19 year old son, brother, grandson and to many a best friend.  Connor was pronounced brain dead at 12:33pm that day.  Our son, who had more life in him than a thousand others, was now gone.  During our heart-wrenching days at Hoag Hospital, we remembered that Connor had made another decision; the astounding selfless decision to be an organ donor.  One Legacy and Hoag gently came along side us through our final days with Connor, helping coordinate the entire journey of his organ donation with the utmost of love, respect and support.  Our final hours were a tangled snare of crushing emotions filled with heart-breaking tragedy juxtaposed against feelings of pride in our son’s decision to help others.  We will never forget watching the helicopters taking Connor’s heart, kidneys and pancreas, what we knew represented the bitter changing of our lives forever, yet what also represented hope of new life for others.   Connor lives on eternally in heaven with Christ, but he also lives on in the lives of four other people through his gift of life.