CHESAPEAKE
Next month, Jacqueline Jackson will face two tough milestones: the first anniversary of her husband's death and a court hearing for the man accused of his murder.
Last May 2, Keldrick Jackson was shot in the head inside his friend's car as they drove home from a Norfolk sports bar. Police arrested a man they had argued with inside the bar and charged him with the killing.
By the time Jackson arrived at the hospital, her husband was on life support.
Jacqueline, a 25-year-old graduate student at Old Dominion University, didn't think long about what to do. Both she and her husband's driver's licenses noted they were organ donors. She told doctors to salvage all the organs they could.
She spent two final days with her unconscious husband at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. While she waited, she saw multiple helicopters arrive - transplant teams coming to harvest life-giving organs, tissue and even some of Keldrick's bones.
Within hours of his death, Keldrick Jackson's heart was pumping inside the body of a 55-year-old man in Charlottesville. His left kidney and pancreas were transplanted into another patient in Charlottesville. His liver went to a 52-year-old woman and his right kidney to a 16-year-old boy, both in Virginia. And in North Carolina, Jackson's lungs helped a 46-year-old mother of two breathe normally again.
His corneas were transplanted, too: one in Virginia, one in California, according to LifeNet Health, a provider of organ donation and tissue banking services.
Doctors removed tissues and bones from his forearms. They took every other rib and much of his skin.
"I believe his soul went to heaven and his body didn't need his organs anymore," Jacqueline Jackson said. "I wanted something good to come out of a tragedy like this."
Knowing that Keldrick's organs are helping others live has helped her cope with her husband's death, she said.
"This was my Christmas present," she said, pulling a letter out of a scrapbook.
The note came from the recipient of Keldrick's liver. She described getting the long-awaited phone call that her prayers had been answered.
Still, the woman wrote, even as her husband drove her to the hospital, she grieved for the unknown donor who had to die so she could live. They prayed before the surgery for the doctor doing the transplant, and for the family grieving the loss.
"My husband tells me now I have two birthdays," she wrote.
Jackson has since written to all of the recipients, telling them a little bit about her husband, who loved being in the Navy and cracking up his six sisters and many friends.
An information technology specialist aboard the amphibious assault ship Saipan, Keldrick had been transferred to the carrier Carl Vinson but hadn't yet reported for duty when he died. He planned to make a career of the Navy, Jackson said.
"I told them who he was, what he believed in, what he liked," she said. "I tell them he was only 25, but lived a full life."
She didn't tell the donors that police believe her husband was murdered.
Keldrick's buddy, the one who was at the Military Highway sports bar with him the night he died, told Jacqueline that a man got into an argument about religion with them. He was told to leave the bar, she said, but was waiting outside when the sailors left.
Accounts differ about what happened next.
Jackson said police told her that Nicholas Ford, a 21-year-old from Suffolk, waved a gun and followed them down the street. Ford's lawyer, Andrew Sacks, said Ford feared for his own safety after Jackson retrieved a baseball bat from the trunk.
Prosecutors withdrew a second-degree murder charge in September after a grand jury indicted Ford on a charge of first-degree murder.
Sacks said Ford plans to plead not guilty by reason of self-defense. A hearing is set for May 5.
Jackson said her toughest days have come with silver linings.
The day Jackson died, her sister learned she was pregnant, after years of attempts. The baby, a niece, was born on Keldrick's birthday - Dec. 2.
It's her husband's "little message from up above that life goes on," Jackson said.
She is determined to face the future with courage.
"I have to do what I can to go on with my life and honor his memory," she said, her eyes watering, as she rubbed the edge of the Navy scrapbook with her left hand. "I accept the fact that it was his time."
Later this month, Jackson will celebrate Keldrick's life with LifeNet. The celebration dinner happens to fall on her own birthday - another interesting coincidence.
"LifeNet has been so great," Jackson said. "They do so much for the families that people don't know about."
She wants people to know the facts about organ donation.
"If they believe in a higher power, their soul's going to heaven, not their body," she said. "Their body is going into the ground."
Of her husband, she said simply: "He was a hero in his life and he was a hero in his death."
Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com
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Still feels like yesterday...
This article took me back to that night and how horrible I felt receiving that phone call as JT drove him to the hospital. Many of us who really knew Keldrick have many things that we'd like to say about this article, but in agreeance to a comment made earlier, I'll just focus on honoring a great man who although tragically lost his life, saved the lives of so many others. I'm saddened he had to lose his life to get "some" people to realize what a good man he was, but at least you do now and we are all glad that you are doing the least that you could do by honoring him. So thank you! Thank you for finally realizing what we knew all along. He was a great man, and loved by many. It's just too bad you realized it too late... RIP Keldrick
To why_him
My wife was an organ donor so I can deeply relate to the story of Mrs. Jackson and I must say I am saddened by the comment from why_him especially when I can attest to the inaccuracy of it. Once you are declared brain dead in the state of VA you are legally dead. There is no paperwork to withdraw life support in the case of brain death in VA and life support in the cases of organ donation are withdrawn based on the sole discretion of the doctors performing the surgery and when they are ready to perform the surgery. Therefore Mrs. Jackson would not have had the right to tell the doctors to keep him on life support until his family made it up here to see him. I also am saddened that you would make personal attacks against someone on a story meant to honor a young man and promote organ donation. I applaud Mrs. Jackson for honoring her husband's memory and I hope you will realize that you do nothing but dishonor this young man by attempting to discredit the young lady he loved enough to make his wife.
Young Widows or Widoers (YWOW) Organization
God Bless you and your family. There is an excellent support group for those that have lost their loved ones. Please visit Young Widows or Widowers of Hampton Roads. Their site is www.ywow.org
Finally -
A story worth reading, about a wonderful person, whose decision not only saved the lives of other people, but enriched ALL our lives in the process. It's wonderful to read about good people doing good things. Even in tragedy, this young lady turned it around into a life saving even for many.
G_d bless.
I admire this woman's
I admire this woman's courage during tragic circumstances. I am also an organ donor & stories like this remind me of why I made that choice.
sorry for the loss
I am also an organ donor, so i hope i will be able to touch as many lives as your husband whenever its my time to go. I hope this story encouraged people to rethink about being an organ donor.
Wow
Such a moving story.
A heartfelt story
What two beautiful, unselfish people. I am so sorry for your loss.
Thank you
You are a remarkable young lady and your husband must have been remarkable, too. Thank you and bless you for your generosity and wisdom.
By the way, my husband and I are organ donors, too - and this is why. If I can help anyone when I no longer need my organs, I want to.
A Heartfelt Story
What a wonderful story about a tragic event. Why do we have people running around with guns at the ready to shoot and kill innocent people? Bless Mrs. Jackson for her courage in this dark point in her life.
Organ Donation saves lives & helps families
My View commented that they thought Organ Donation was not good for all and that they go to people that didn't need them. There are stories all over the place about children needing bone marrow or a specific organ to be able to live, there are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, best friends, or your neighbor all waiting for a chance to continue their life. How about donating your eyes to someone that hasn't been able to see in years...something so simple that we take for granted day after day. It really sadden me to see that comment. I have a friend from high school that is 30 yrs old with 2 little girls (10 & 8) and she is waiting for a pancreas & kidney. She has been told to get her legal things in order and not to expect a long life. I am however, happy to see that this story may have changed My View view on Organ Donation. I hope that it changes many other peoples views on Donating their Organs once they are gone. It is a wonderful gift to be able to give even after death. Thank you Jackson family for touching so many lives in your time of despair.
Out of Ashes, Beauty
Always a firm believer in organ donation, I, too, have it on my license. You have done a most humane and kindly deed. I have friends who died suddenly and their families chose this beautiful gift of life for others. As wife of a Navy Chaplain, I, unfortunately, see so many, who are way too young, lose their lives. While I cannot make suggestions to their families to have their organs donated, it is my hope that your story will encourage more families to do the same. My sincerest sympathy for your loss. Thanks for sharing the picture of your husband. Handsome! God has a much bigger reward waiting for you in heaven! And one day you will reunite with him forever! The hope of Christians everywhere--out of ashes comes beauty.
Wow...
...what an amazing story of courage! To hear that Kendrick has helped life go on for so many other families is something he should look down and be proud of. For his wife, you are amazing and I hope you continue to find the strength to see this through to the end of the trial, and for the rest of your life.
Wishing you much happiness and success x
Selina x
http://www.selinawragg.co.uk
What a gift
to have given even in your pain. This young lady is remarkable. I've met her and her parents under very trying circumstances and they attend Parents of Murdered Children events! What a loving caring family! God be with all of you now and in the courtroom!
sorry for you loss
Before reading your story, I felt being a donor wasnt for the good of all. I might rethink it now. I always felt the donations didnt always go to the people who needed them. It sounds like your husband saved many lives. Sorry for your loss, and hope only the best for you in the future. You are a very brave woman.
God bless you
God bless you for your generous gift of life to all the recipents. I hope your story inspires others to donate their organs. I've been listed as an organ donor since I first got a drivers license.
Wow.
You, ma'am, are a great lady.
Thank You Donors
It is a gallant gesture, to help others live after you have passed on. You also in a sense.... still live a while longer.
Keldrick
I must say Keldrick never seems to amaze me. He's doing work from above. He was a dear friend of mine. Unfortunately I was over seas and couldn't make it to his memorial. Jacqueline if you read this post. Please email me at ashcobjon@aol.com.
Gift of Life
Jacqueline Jackson you are an inspiration! I am sure Keldrick is very proud of your courage. I am deeply sorry for your loss.