OHIO — For National Recovery Month, a Northeast Ohio family is turning their grief into something positive.
The family hopes to inspire others and make a difference when it comes to drug awareness.
“He was kind as a child, he was kind as an adult, and now he's, you know, he's not gone, he's walking the earth in, in different people,” Sharon Dhillon said.
Sharon is the mom of Alex Dhillon, who died back in 2021 from a drug overdose.
“Every mother's child is very special, and when you lose your child, you lose a part of yourself, and you, you'll never get that back. Part of me, you know, just went away with him,” Sharon said.
The pain Dhillon feels is something she said she and her family are still getting used to, but she tells me by faith—and the love they all shared for Alex—they’re able to keep going.
“I think that's what our family remembers the most about him is how kind he was and how thoughtful he was,” Dhillon said.
As the family mourns the loss of their son, brother and friend, Dhillon said Alex’s caring heart exceeded their expectations when they learned he signed up to be an organ donor.
“That just was like there's another one of those kindness pieces from him. He took care of everything,” Dhillon said.
Through Alex’s generosity, he has saved three people’s lives, including a three-year-old boy.
Lifebanc CEO Gordon Bowen even said Alex’s lungs went to research, creating 151 grafts across 26 states, which gave two people the ability to walk again.
“It can be one organ per donor, or it can be eight or nine organs per donor, and on the tissue side, a tissue donation can help up to 150 people, so Alex definitely was a hero,” Bowen said.
While this tragedy is one Dhillon wished did not happen, she said she is happy his legacy is being carried on in a special way.
“I'm just incredibly happy that he was able to do that. That lives were, were impacted and changed and helped,” Dhillon said.
Dhillon and Bowen hope Alex’s story will encourage more people to be organ donors.
Dhillon also said she wants to send this message surrounding the country’s drug epidemic.
“I view this as one of the biggest problems we have in this country is the drugs and the illegal drugs and the fentanyl, and it's killing our children. There's not going to be anything left if it's not unchecked,” Dhillon said.
If you would like to be an organ, eye or tissue donor, click here.
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