2016 Oceana Grace Irizarry Power

OCEANA GRACE IRIZARRY POWER

Organ Donor

Age 9 ~ Ft. Stewart, GA

Donated on 07/29/2014

at All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL

Honored by lifelinkfound.org

Oceana, or Oci, as her mother called her, was a caring and selfless girl who was already ahead of her age.  She was a deep thinker who cared about the environment and loved to learn.  Oci was passionate, imaginative, and artistic, but most of all, she was happy.  She was her father’s daughter, in that everything they did together was an adventure. Oci never had the opportunity to think about organ donation, but when her mother, Rebecca, was faced with the decision, she said out of everything, it was the easiest decision to make. While Oci and her father, Ommy, continue their adventure after life, with the gifts they gave, others can now begin adventures of their own.

Oceana’s Story

Oceana Grace, my little Oci, was an amazing child. Just like her father, she was caring and selfless. She was such a bright child and started to see the “big picture” at a young age.  I often had to remind her that she was just a child and not to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.  She was a deep-thinker and cared very much for our environment and future. She was in the gifted program in her school and had a sincere love of learning. Oci was imaginative, artistic, loving, and above all, happy. She was a happy soul and brought joy to all who were blessed to know and love her. She loved reading, playing video games, swimming, snorkeling, dancing and spending time with her family and friends.

With Ommy and Oci, it didn’t matter if it was a weekend get-away to the beach or a trip to the grocery store, everything was an adventure! It is safe to say when I made the decision to donate Ommy and Oceana’s tissue and organs, I was in a state of shock. We were on vacation for our anniversary when a plane literally fell from the air onto my family. That day and the days to follow seem like a blur, although every choice I made was informed and deliberate. A million thoughts raced through my head -conversations Ommy had with me where he would speak of what he wanted if he were to die – the memory of me hushing him repeatedly because that thought was too much for me to bear, but what came out of my mouth was simply, yes. Yes, of course. This is one hundred percent what he wanted and although my sweet angel at nine-years-old was never introduced to the idea of organ and tissue donation, it is what she wanted as well.

Through this entire experience, this was the easiest decision to make. When I hugged my baby for the last time, if anything were to make letting her go any easier, it was the knowledge that she was going into surgery to have her organs and tissue donated.

God did not give me the miracle I asked for that day, but I know Ommy and Oceana’s gifts are the miracles prayed for by so many others in need and those who love them.