As a proud Florida Gator (Class of 1972) who served as editor-in-chief of The Alligator from 1971-72, I have a lifetime debt of gratitude to UF, the College of Journalism & Communications and especially to The Independent Florida Alligator.
This column seeks to correct some regrettable errors woven into a recent, well-intentioned but misguided opinion piece about organ donation. That recent opinion column encouraged readers to avoid registering as organ donors.
My daughter, Aimee Nicole Sachs, was a Gator grad, journalism major and former Alligator staffer. She was sharp, brave, loving and determined to make a difference. At 38, in May of 2023, Aimee suffered a massive stroke that plunged her into “locked-in syndrome.” She was fully conscious but would be unable to speak, move or breathe on her own ever again. She could think and feel emotion, but was able to communicate only by blinking her eyes.
I stood at her bedside to explain what had tragically happened. Our family wanted to give her the opportunity to decide if she wanted to spend the rest of her life trapped in a non-functioning body. When answering two questions, closing her eyes was a “Yes” for each of them. Aimee chose to remove artificial life support so that she could move on. She also said “Yes” to honoring her driver’s license lifetime status since she was 16 — to be an organ donor.
