Donation Essentials Blog
2019 Donate Life Rose Parade Float Rider – Colleen Reed
This year, we are honored to be represented at the 130th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. by Colleen Reed. Colleen is traveling from Denver to ride aboard the 16th annual Donate Life Rose Parade float on January 1.
Following the 130th Rose Parade’s theme, “The Melody of Life,” which celebrates music, the 2019 Donate Life float’s theme, “Rhythm of the Heart,” depicts a colorful design featuring musical instruments and cultural artifacts that invite parade audiences to experience the music of Africa.
Colleen will be joined aboard the float by 17 others from across the country whose lives have also been impacted by donation and transplantation. The float has become the world’s most visible campaign to inspire donation.
What a Difference Three Years Makes
On New Year’s Day 2016, exactly three years prior to this year’s parade, Colleen learned from her doctor that her liver was full of tumors. She had a rare, and in her case aggressive, sarcoma that had taken hold of her liver and her life. After realizing that the sarcoma could not be treated with chemotherapy and radiation, and that the only treatment option was a liver transplant, Colleen joined thousands of others across the country waiting for an organ transplant on the waiting list.
More than eight months after being diagnosed, Colleen received a lifesaving liver transplant. In the midst of tragedy and loss, the donor’s family supported the donation process and saved Colleen’s life and the lives of others. Colleen thinks of her donor and their family every day. She is riding aboard the Donate Life float in honor of her donor and hopes to live in ways that bring honor to their life.
Watch the Rose Parade
The 130th Rose Parade will start at 8 a.m. PST on January 1, 2019 and be broadcast live in the US by broadcast partners ABC, NBC, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, Univision and more. Check local broadcast listings for more information. For more information about the 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade float, visit http://www.donatelifefloat.org.
How You Can help
Colorado and Wyoming residents can register their decision to be donors by saying Yes each time they obtain or renew a driver license or state ID, or at www.DonateLifeColorado.org or www.DonateLifeWyoming.org, anytime.
