Memories at mosaic tribute
Toowoomba Hospital honours donors
TOOWOOMBA mum Kylie Bauer gave a touching tribute to her late daughter Mia Quinnell at the unveiling of a mosaic artwork honouring organ donors.
Under the mosaic in the Toowoomba hospital foyer, Ms Bauer rehashed the moment her family’s lives were changed forever.
“Five years ago, on September 27, we lost our beautiful daughter after we hit a kangaroo on the highway,” Ms Bauer said.
“They transported her to hospital and they did all the tests - the doctors came out and told us she had an unsurvivable brain injury.
“They then asked if we would be interested in donating her organs.”
Ms Bauer said the decision to donate was the “easiest thing about that day”.
“My husband and I had never discussed organ donation, but in that moment we were on the same page, and we said yes.
“We are the type of people who will try to help anyone if we can, and you can’t really take (your organs) with you.
“It’s a comfort to us to know her heart has never stopped beating.”
Mia’s donation helped improve the life of two children and two adults.
More than forty people attended yesterday’s ceremony, which marked national DonateLife Thank You Day.
The artwork is one of 14 pieces made by artist Jane Du Rand, to be hung in hospitals nationwide, making it the first large-scale memorial project for donors in Australia.
“In Toowoomba hospital there are about three families every year who make the choice of organ donations,” executive director of Toowoomba Hospital ShirleyAnne Gardiner said.
“I found a quote I love that epitomises organ donations: ‘Don’t think of organ donation as giving up part of yourself to keep a stranger alive, think of it as a stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep a part of you alive’.”