Wendy Bolling began struggling with her vision early in life. When her sight took a turn for the worse in 2021, she had corneal transplants that gave her back her independence and led to the start of an amazing relationship with the family of the donor, Timothy Page, jr., who made her gift of sight possible.

Wendy remembers wearing glasses when she was in third grade, and later having to wear hard contact lenses due to her severe astigmatism. When she was 19 years old, she had Radial Keratotomy (RK)* surgery, which successfully improved her vision. However, 20 years later her vision dramatically changed, becoming as bad as it had been before her RK surgery.

“My vision did a 180,” Wendy explains. “My corneas were so distorted there was not a good prescription that would allow me to see clearly. Everything, even with glasses, always looked distorted or fuzzy.” In 2020, she tried new scleral lenses which helped but were uncomfortable and hard to maintain.

Then in July 2021, a bacterial infection began to rob Wendy of what vision she had left. By August, she was essentially blind and in constant pain. The infection had made daily life extremely difficult. Not only could she not drive or work, she suffered severe migraines that forced her to be in a dark, quiet room. Her mother moved in with her to help. “If was hard to have to depend so much on others,” she adds.

Thanks to her doctors at Duke University Eye Center, medication slowly cleared up the infection. But it became apparent that Wendy would require corneal transplants in both eyes to regain her sight.

“When the doctor told me I would need corneal transplants, my heart sank,” she says. “I thought ‘oh, my gosh, what if they don’t take, what if it doesn’t work and I am never going to see again?’ I was so nervous, but I knew I had the best doctor. And he would make sure it all went well.”

The transplant on her left eye was done in late October and four days later, Wendy was already seeing more clearly than ever. “It was remarkable! To be blind and receive the gift of sight again… I was so grateful that it is hard to even put into words!”

The transplant on her right eye was done in early January with the same positive results. By March, Wendy was able to drive, work a full day and live her life again. “I felt as though I was given another chance,” she says.

Like many transplant recipients, Wendy was inspired by the gift she received to reach out in gratitude to the families whose loved ones had made her miracle possible through eye donation. With the donor family’s permission, Wendy was able to get in touch with Tim’s mother, Sararecia Long, as well as his sister, Teioyannah Page.

Wendy and Tim’s family, including his mother, his sister and his daughters, met for a beautiful afternoon this past October. And when they met, “it was like we had known them for years,” says Wendy. “They are wonderful people. I can never thank them enough.”

For Tim’s mother, the opportunity to connect with Wendy and to know that her son had made a difference in someone’s life was more than a blessing. “To say that it was a blessing would be an understatement,” says Sararecia. “I love my son. He was a loving person — loved his family, loved his daughters, loved the Lord. And he was well liked… to meet him was to know him.”

Wendy and Sararecia both agreed that they should get together every year. However, they both doubted that they would be able to wait that long to see each other again.

Read more about Tim in the upcoming Wendy and Tim’s Story, Part 2.

*Radial Keratotomy (RK) is a surgical procedure designed to re-shape the cornea to improve the patient’s vision.

Percy Ethan-Todd Brooks

June 12, 2000 – June 22, 2023

Loving, kind, caring, adventurous, spontaneous, free-spirited, humorous, dedicated, courageous. 

These are only a few of the words that I would use to describe my brother, Ethan. My name is Cierrah and for 23 years, I was Ethan’s protector. He called me Cissy, a name that has stuck with me since. Ethan’s parents are Todd and Nicolette. No amount of words could describe the love we have for Ethan. From the time he was born, Ethan lived his life to the fullest. He never saw fear or danger. He only saw opportunity. A character trait that many may view as a negative is one of my favorite things about my brother. 

In the past few weeks I’ve learned a lot about Ethan and the kind of person that others perceived him to be. I have been able to see him for more than just my brother, but the kind of man he had grown into. I have heard time and time again of the kindness and generosity that was shown by him. At his funeral, someone mentioned to me that they had never seen so many people at a funeral. In truth, I had not either. We were most definitely expecting a large group just because of the amount of friends Ethan had made within the biker community. However, the amount of people that showed up for our sweet boy, left us speechless. 

Ethan was employed at Campbell Soup and was known by the majority of the staff there. They describe him as a hard worker, always with a smile, and having the unique ability to make you laugh in any sort of situation. I was told by several of his staff members there that while he was the youngest on the line, he was also one of the top paid employees. Only while being there a short time, he had managed to work himself up into higher paid positions. He most certainly worked a lot and often took several additional hours of overtime. This afforded him opportunities to meet more than just the regular staff that was employed during his normal shift. It goes without saying, Ethan had a dedication to his job and a work ethic that was unmatched. This is something that I have always believed that our daddy instilled in us as young children. Prior to working at the plant, Ethan was employed at Honda as a car salesman. At only 19 years old, he was named the top car salesman at his location. 

Ethan absolutely loved to be outdoors and had a big heart for his two Belgian Malinois, Ace and Gunner. It was a rare occurrence for you to see Ethan and not see his two pups following behind him. Ethan’s birthday was on June 12th and one of his closest friends shared with me that his only request for a birthday dinner was that his pups be allowed to join them. He trained them himself and this allowed him to take them into the public as he pleased. Ethan had a great sense of adventure. By the time he was 3, he could already ride a bicycle without training wheels. As he got older, he found a love for various atv’s and motorcycles. When he was not at work, you could find him riding his red Harley Davidson, fishing or even hunting with his “boys”. 

On June 18, 2023, my baby brother was in a motorcycle accident. When we got the call, I of course ran to find him, but while I was worried, I still believed he was going to be just fine, like he always was. You really just had to know Ethan to understand why I say this. He was once in a 4-wheeler accident where he’d hit a stop sign in the dark going 70-80 miles per hour. After the accident, he returned to the scene and took the stop sign home with him. He still had it, to this day. I never could have imagined that his motorcycle accident would have led me to this moment. After the motorcycle accident, his family was informed that he had severe brain trauma, swelling and bleeding on his brain. This meant that there was a certain time where Ethan had lost oxygen from his neck and above. There was nothing they were able to do for him and told us to prepare to say goodbye. This was the darkest moment of my life by far. I am 26 years old, three years older than Ethan. In all of those years, I had never experienced heartbreak like I did in those words. Even now, when I really think about what has occurred in the past month, my brain just cannot comprehend those words. For nearly a week, I sat, ate, and slept in a hospital room next to my baby brother. Even though the organ donation was already received and scheduled, my heart still hoped for a miracle for him. I waited and waited for him to open his eyes and wake up to all the crazy things we’d filled his room with. He was such a tough guy on the outside and we frequently joked about him hating everything we had decorated the room with. Day after day, the hospital was flooded with strangers that we had never met, but people that shared their most precious moments that they had spent with Ethan. Even in those moments of heartbreak between his family and his friends it made me so happy to know just how loved he was by others.

I hope that in reading this letter you can see the life that Ethan lived and know that he would have made the exact same decisions that his sister did. Never did I imagine that I would have to make these decisions. In fact, up front, I have always said no to organ donation. It was just always one of those things that seemed wrong. But, when I was told my brother was not coming back my mission became making sure that he lived on, regardless of what way. The decision to make him an organ donor was effortless for me. While I was saddened to be losing my brother, my heart rejoiced at the idea of not only allowing him to continue living, but in the fact that we had the ability to allow him to save the lives of so many other people. Up to the very morning of Ethan’s procedure, I was still pondering ways in which he may be able to help someone else. This was the moment in which we made the decision to donate Ethan’s corneas. As soon as the thought presented itself to me in the hospital, I knew this was the right thing for Ethan. We were calling him a miracle the day of his accident and we are still calling him one now. You, your life, your purpose, you are a part of his miracle. No amount of thank you’s or appreciation could ever explain the gratitude I hold in my heart for you.

More than anything, I want you to know that your life is special. Your life is valuable. I am thankful for your life. This paper I was given speaks about survivor’s guilt, but I want you to know there is no reason for you to have anything of the sort. You’re probably thinking that I don’t understand because I am not in your shoes and you are most definitely right. But in the very end, there was nothing I wanted more for my brother than to be able to give his life for others and in my heart, I know he would have done the same for me.

My greatest wish for you is that you live life just like he did-

Freely, happily, and like everyday is your last.

With Love,

Cierrah (Ethan’s Cissy)

I would like to share a few things about Etta, first I will say we always called her Beth. She told me when she was a little girl that she thought Etta was a old person name so she wanted to be called Beth. We all found that hilarious, she always had a sense of humor and she was a very loved woman. She always put others first and she loved her two children more than anything.

Beth loved to fish she enjoyed being outside working in the yard. She loved flowers, butterflies and hummingbirds and of course cardinals! She loved working in a garden and cooking. She enjoyed cooking special dishes for holidays and my favorite was her sweet potato casserole! She enjoyed family get togethers. She always made you feel special on your birthday. She always made a big deal of it because she wanted you to know how much she loved you!

She was proud to be a donor, and I am proud of her for that I am happy she continues to help others.

My Dad was an adventurer! He loved long walks by the ocean and building sandcastles, but his heart was in the mountains. Camping, hiking, canoeing and fly fishing were a few of his favorites. He also enjoyed experimenting with recipes and cooking for the family. Thanksgiving was always his favorite holiday. He loved to explore new places in his jeep, always looking for God’s natural beauty. His six grandchildren were his pride and joy! My hope is that someone else is able to see the beauty in this world just as my Dad did. 

He was the most selfless person I knew. He would always lend a helping hand and be there for anyone that needed him. He opened his doors to friends and family that needed a place to stay and would give a stranger the shirt off his back. He always wanted to be an organ donor. Although our hearts are broken; my family and I are extremely thankful to Miracles in Sight! Thank you for giving him the opportunity to donate his corneas and help another person in need. 

On March 4th at 11:00 pm Larry was experiencing chest discomfort and sweating. EMS was called and he was taken to the emergency room. At 1:30 it was decided he needed to have a cardiac catherization and at 3:30 am he was pronounced death during the procedure. Prior to 11:00 we had been to Pizza Hut and watched the Duke and Carolina game. All seemed to be well. His death was totally a surprise.

On the way home I was called concerning donation. I have been a registered nurse for 52 years and always encouraged organ donation so this was not a choice. I was thankful that something good would be coming from his sudden death. At 1:00 pm the called came concerning the donation with added information. It was a positive experience and thankful I was contacted.

Larry was a master carpenter. He made beautiful jewelry boxes, clocks, bowels, vases etc. He never sold them but gave them away to family members. He had little patience for somethings but when he had a piece of wood in his hands he could sand and cut for hours. At church he was there 45min before service started. Making sure lights were on, heat and air was good and greeted people as they entered. His wit and ability to relate to anyone is the thing I miss the most.

Our son and brother, Ian Michael Roof, was born on April 15, 1986 and passed away at the age of 36 on January 25, 2023. 

Ian was an active child and that continued on into adulthood.  As a young child he would get home from school and go straight to the kitchen table to complete his homework so he could get outside to play.  Playing and having fun was on the top of his priority list.  He was an exceptional athlete as well, perhaps more because of his understanding of how to play the games than for his natural ability.

Ian attended the University of South Carolina and received a BA degree in 2009.  While there, during one semester, he played on nine intramural teams including men’s basketball, coed basketball, soccer, coed soccer, dodgeball, coed dodgeball etc. etc.  We often wondered how he even completed that semester successfully.

He continued his education at the local community colleges and received a degree in Radiology Technology.  He worked as an X-Ray technician and then obtained credentials to do MRIs.  His last job was conducting MRIs at a local hospital.  We have been told that he was very good at this job-particularly dealing with children who had to have scans.  His ability to put people at ease was his gift.

Ian did not know a stranger and people gravitated to him for his friendship.  He was a good listener, provided sound advice, enjoyed laughing and was by all accounts the life of any party.  He was asked to be a groomsman in more weddings than most of us attend in our lifetime- that is how special he was to others.  His quick wit, willingness to help others, and outgoing personality endeared him to many.  This was indicative in the number of people who came to his service – estimated at about 500.  They came from all over the country, and in attendance were childhood friends, teachers, coaches, co-workers, fellow college students, neighbors, and new acquaintances.  Many tears were shed. 

Ian would be pleased that others have benefited from his life.  We hope that his ability to donate parts of himself bring everlasting joy to the recipients and that they too can enjoy their life to the fullest as he did every day.