Organ donations help with the loss
Jacob Purdy’s gifts save five others
Somewhere out there, Jacob Purdy’s heart still beats.
It’s the only comfort there is — knowing his organ donations saved five other people — after the young Amherstburg man’s death from a car crash.
The 21-year-old leaves behind grieving parents, two brothers and a pregnant girlfriend.
“It’s the only good part of this whole tragedy,” his mother Debra said Wednesday at the family’s Amherstburg home. “It made me very proud that he will be helping somebody else, knowing that your child is going to live on, even if it’s with somebody else.”
Purdy was driving a car that collided with a pickup truck May 27 at County Road 10 and Concession 8 North. Amherstburg police said both drivers suffered life-threatening injuries.
Police didn’t respond to a request Wednesday for more details about the crash, including the condition of the other driver.
Purdy’s parents said he was officially pronounced dead on June 1. He is survived by his mother, father Scott and brothers Joshua, 23, and Shayne, 17. His girlfriend, Rebecca Vukov, 20, now also faces the reality of raising their unborn child without him.
The baby shower was scheduled for the day after the crash.
Rebecca said she’s going to name the baby boy Jacob.
Purdy’s family has set up a trust account at Libro Credit Union to help raise money for Rebecca and the baby, due July 19.
For anyone wishing to donate, the account is under the name Jacob Andrew Purdy.
Debra said one of the toughest parts about losing her son is knowing he won’t be there to see the birth of his own baby. “He was very patient,” she said. “He would have been a wonderful father. I have no doubt.
“He was always good with kids. Not only did he go and see his friends, he always took time to talk to their brothers and sisters. He would always fix my nephew Owen’s Nerf guns. Owen, his first thought was who’s going to fix my Nerf gun?”
Purdy had a knack for fixing things. He was always good with his hands. He often spent his lunch hours in high school helping his teachers repair whatever they needed.
“If his teachers had a wobbly desk or broken chair, he’d bring it out to get fixed and bring it back five minutes later,” said Debra.
After a one-year course learning about construction at St. Clair College, he started a new job at a local tool and die company on May 1.
“He was really into the job,” said Debra. “From what we’re told he was doing well.”
His good hands also helped him on the football field.
He also fed that passion in high school, playing for St. Thomas of Villanova and Windsor Minor Football Association.
“After high school was done, he thought his ability to play football was done,” said Debra. “He was pretty upset about that. Then a friend of his kind of recruited him up to the Sarnia Imperials.”
While still living in Amherstburg, he played for the Sarnia Imperials of the Northern Football Conference, Canada’s highest level for adult amateur players.
“He was out there playing against 30- and 40-year-olds,” said Debra.
“He didn’t care. He wasn’t afraid. He would stay in his place and he wasn’t intimidated. His first day coming home after practice, he had a job interview at Walmart and he was pretty bruised up. He would still go out there time after time. He was a very determined young man.”
But Purdy was more than a onedimensional jock full of gridiron toughness. He also had a soft side. As a boy, he spent a lot of time at House of Shalom Youth Centre. When he got too old for the
programs, he started volunteering there to help others. As he got older, to the surprise of his parents, he also fell in love with acting.
Purdy was a fixture on the stage at Villanova. Along with helping build the sets, Purdy performed in productions of Grease, Legally Blonde and Hairspray.
“It kind of surprised us when he took on the drama, but he was pretty good at it,” said Debra.
For his last high school production, Bring it On, the actors learned how to do lifts and throws.
“Jake would have a sore wrist or a sore shoulder and he’d wrap up his wrist and he’d be out there,” said Debra.
“His teacher said he never complained whatsoever. We heard it when he got home. We kept saying it’s not going to get any better if you keep doing it. It didn’t get better. It was what he loved and it was his passion.”
It was that passion for life that moved him to sign up as an organ donor at age 16.
His parents didn’t know until it was time to make some difficult decisions following the accident.
Debra said her son saved the lives of five people. The family learned just before they left home for the funeral Monday that all the surgeries were successful.
One person received both Purdy’s heart and lungs.
After Purdy died, Debra got a new tattoo with “My son is my hero” in ornate black writing across the inside of her left forearm. Underneath the writing is an exact replica of Purdy’s heartbeat readout from a cardiac monitor.
“I still wanted a piece of his heart with me even though it was going on to save somebody else,” said Debra.
“He is definitely my hero. Not too many kids at 16 think ‘If something happens to me I want to save somebody else.’ ”
I still wanted a piece of his heart with me even though it was going on to save somebody else.