SOUTHWICK – In June of 2008, Southwick resident Daniel Arnold passed away at the age of 36 from a bike accident up in New Hampshire. Before Arnold passed away, his plan was to donate his organs to those throughout New England that may be in dire need of them.
Arnold’s mother, Diane, said she was the last one to know of her son’s intentions, but little did the Arnold family know, that a fellow Southwick resident would directly benefit from their late son’s request.
In 2008, Beth Bradley of Southwick, experienced a heart attack and had complications when her main cardiac artery was seized. Bradley was put on a waiting list for an organ. Almost two years later, Bradley was still praying for that glimpse of hope.
“It took 22 months of waiting and I started to think I wasn’t going to get a heart,” said Bradley.
Beth Bradley and Diane Arnold share a moment as they were recognized during the Donate for Life Ceremony at the Southwick Town Hall on Monday night. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
One day, that wait was finally put to an end; Arnold’s heart matched up perfectly with Bradley, but that was just the beginning.
“I had to know whose heart was in my chest,” said Bradley.
During Monday night’s Donate for Life Ceremony at the Southwick Town Hall, Arnold and Bradley were recognized by the community. When speaking to the crowd in attendance, each of the two women held up a picture of Daniel Arnold.
For Bradley, it could have been a way to connect with the man who wanted to help those in desperate need just like her, and for Diane Arnold, it gave her the opportunity to see a clear positive from such a selfless act by her son.
“Meeting her has eased my grieving pain,” said Arnold. “It’s a blessing.”
Arnold remembers her son’s passion for motocross and him riding the number 72 bike in the NESC (New England Sports Committee). But, it was his ultimate drive to donate his organs that has left the biggest mark on Arnold and those who loved and knew Daniel.
“He always wanted to be an organ donor,” said Arnold. “We respected his wish.”
After Arnold and Bradley were recognized, the ceremony proceeded outside to the front of town hall so the Donate for Life Flag could be raised.
There are also seven other flags in town that will be raised in town: the Southwick Town Hall, Southwick Police and Fire Departments, the DPW, the town library, Southwick Funeral Home, and the American Inn.
Bradley and Arnold help Southwick Police Department Sergeant Kirk Sanders put up the Donate for Life flag in front of town hall. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
Susan Sanders who has volunteered this year to help organize the Donate for Life Ceremony, is hopeful that residents and vehicles passing by the town, will notice the importance of the flag.
“Hopefully somebody sees that flag and they want to know more about Donate for Life,” said Sanders.
Like Bradley, Sanders was also in need of an organ as she went through a heart transplant in 2008. Sanders received Samantha Prokop’s heart who died at the age of 12 in October 2008 from a head injury.
Experiencing it herself, Sanders makes it a goal to find Southwick residents who have been a part of donating or receiving an organ.
“Every year I tried to find a way to find someone from Southwick who has been affected,” said Sanders.
Donate for Life helps recognize National Donate Life Month, which occurs every year in April. According to Sanders, every state across the country has their own OPO (Organ Procurement Organization) and Donate for Life represents Massachusetts.
