Astellas would like to thank all those who submitted essays to the second annual Ride of a Lifetime contest. Congratulations to the five winners who experienced the Ride of a Lifetime on January 1, 2007.

Here are the winners of the Astellas Ride of a Lifetime essay contest, and the names of their nominated donors who rode on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float:

• Emily Biondi, 23
  Ellicott City, Maryland
  Kidney Recipient
  Nominated Donor/Float Rider: Norman Biondi, Emily’s father

  As a student of Florida Southern College, I was incredibly active. I was always running around doing things for SGA or trying to stay in shape to be on the dance team. I was a vocal performance/dance major and at the end of my sophomore year I became very ill. Being from Maryland, I moved my stuff into a storage facility and made my journey back home for summer vacation.

  Click here to read Emily and Norman’s story
  
  
• Lisa Keezer, 33
  Bloomington, Illinois
  Liver Recipient
  Nominated Donor/Float Rider: Robert Bonner Jr., Lisa’s brother

  I have had the fortitude to grow up in a household of five siblings – all of us quite close. I do not like to pick favorites, but I do share a special bond with my brother Bob – since he donated 60% of his liver to me three years ago…

  Click here to read Lisa and Robert’s story
  
  
• Elizabeth Lentz, 53
  Gate Mills, Ohio
  Kidney Recipient
  Nominated Donor/Float Rider: Rachel Lentz, Elizabeth’s daughter

  We think of heroes as strong, muscular men, but heroes come in many forms. When my kidneys failed at the age of fifty I was told I needed to have a kidney transplant. I had always been healthy so needless to say this came as a crushing blow. I became very sick and trips to the hospital were routine. Following so much bad news and failing health I was suddenly offered hope when, after extensive testing, my youngest daughter, Rachel, qualified to be my kidney donor. She was to be my hero. She was nineteen years old and had never spent time in the hospital or even had stitches. Rachel, with her flowing blond hair, was in the midst of her sophomore year at Ohio University, living in a dorm, meeting new friends, and enjoying a newly found independence. She cast all this aside, jeopardizing her education, and took off winter quarter to donate her right kidney to me. I know she was afraid but more than that she was determined to save me. I was afraid for her, and me.

  Click here to read Elizabeth and Rachel’s story
  
  
• Kathy Payne, 47
  Conway, Arkansas
  Kidney Recipient
  Nominated Donor/Float Rider: Shannon L. Payne, Kathy’s son

  This is a story of life-giving decisions. It begins after several years of battling severe lupus. Due to the increasing difficulties of the disease, and the medications to fight it, I was believed to have been sterile. Against all odds, I conceived a son. The doctors cautioned of the grave consequences and begged me to terminate the pregnancy. Even still, I fought to give him life. Amid constant fears of flair-ups, the physicians warned that at the first sign of trouble, they would end the pregnancy. Every day was one day closer to a possibility of a full term, healthy baby. With God’s help, my son Shannon was born.

  Click here to read Kathy and Shannon’s story
  
  
• Lacey Wood, 17
  Placerville, California
  Kidney Recipient
  Nominated Donor/Float Rider: Tyson Wood, Lacey’s brother

  I am nominating my 19 year old brother, Tyson Wood-my kidney donor. I just had my kidney transplant July 18, 2006 at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. As I write this I am about to be released to return to my home in California. I received a heart transplant as well when I was just a year and a half old when a virus attacked my heart. That was almost 16 years ago! My heart is doing great but I have been struggling with kidney failure for the past two years. Despite my heart transplant I had always been a very physically active person but the kidney failure was getting the best of me. I had played volleyball for my high school volleyball teams as a freshman and sophomore. The week after my sophomore volleyball season ended, I wound up in the hospital with blood clots, kidney failure, blood pressure problems and gout. I have spent a lot of time in the hospital, which meant being away from school and my friends. I was very weak and struggled with just day-to-day stuff. Life just wasn’t great but I tried to make the best of it. We tested my family and my brother ended up being a perfect 6/6 match for me! I have been very active in promoting organ donation ever since my heart transplant so I know just how lucky I am to have a willing donor that is such a great match.

  Click here to read Lacey and Tyson’s story
  
  

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