My name is Ann Sullivan and I am an administrator here at South Bend Medical Foundation. I would like to express a sincere thank you on behalf of the Medical Foundation for volunteering your time and your blood to help others. What you give is very important to the people in our community. Your donations save lives. In fact, they saved my life. I want you to understand how much your donations mean to the people whose lives are saved so I would like to share my story with you. Almost exactly 2 years ago today my life changed in a way that I will never forget. As I left work I told a coworker that I had a headache and just didn’t feel right so I thought I needed to go home take some aspirin and go to bed early. At home I had a quiet evening, some dinner and then watched to TV with my husband and 2 younger boys who were in 6th and 8th grade. As the evening wore on I began to feel worse. About 9 or so my husband asked me if I wanted to go the emergency room but I declined thinking I just had a bad migraine headache or was catching a cold since I ached all over. I also began to have a tightening, rather choking feeling in my upper chest and neck. I went to bed but could not sleep. About 1 am I woke Mike – I don’t think he ever really got to sleep - and told him I was feeling worse and I thought maybe I should go to the ER. We went to Memorial Hospital and the ER staff tried to find out what was wrong with me. The next 12 hours are rather blurry to me but I remember that no one could find a cause for my pain and they performed tests while I drifted in and out with an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose. Eventually a test called an echocardiogram was performed. Then things took a real change of pace. A cardiac surgeon was paged and ER nurses were actually running to get me prepared for an emergency open-heart surgery. As they were wheeling me off to surgery, the doctor said to Mike that it was a rush against time and he couldn’t promise he could get me to the operating table. There were 2 tears in my heart’s aorta and the blood that my body needed was not pumping through my veins but leaking into my chest. I was dying. The last thing I remember was telling Mike “I don’t think I will make it”. The nurse asked my husband if he wanted to kiss me goodbye before I went to surgery? His response was an adamant “No, I will kiss her when she wakes up.” Well, I did make it. But it wasn’t easy. I had not one but two surgeries. Our minister arrived to be with Mike. At one point during surgery the scrub nurse was sent to see Mike to give him the some news. The nurse arrived with the chaplain in tow and the message was not good. Things were not going well and my chances did not look good. Many prayers were said that day. It took over 55 units of blood, your blood, to give me my life back, to give my husband his wife back and for my children to grow up with a mother and a father. Without that precious gift from people like you I would not be here today. I have already told you that I work at SBMF. My job is to make sure we have the funds to continue our work so I spend my days making sure we don’t spend too much and we remain financially strong. I help to decide how we charge for the testing and storing of the blood you so generously donate. But until I personally experienced this gift I do not think I really understood the value of what you do and it cannot be expressed in dollars. From the bottom of my heart, literally, I thank you. Sincerely, Ann Sullivan Vice President of Finance

Ryne Ewald is seven years old and lives here in South Bend with his mom, dad, older brother, Chad, and his stuffed monkey, Stinky. A few years ago, Ryne got sick and wasn’t getting any better. Ryne was diagnosed with lymphoma and needed 25 blood transfusions to help him fight the disease and recover. Red blood cells and platelets are often given to people suffering from cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. A family friend sent Ryne a balloon bouquet in the hospital to lift his spirits. A stuffed monkey was attached and soon became Ryne’s best support through all his treatment. Ryne’s stuffed monkey, Stinky, goes with him everywhere… Just like the 25 people that donated the blood that helped to save his life.