Dawn Mclendon lost her son to fentanyl poisoning last year, days before Mother’s Day. But before he left this world, she received from him a priceless gift that saved her life – his liver.
Travis Mclendon was an organ donor, and because his mother needed a new liver, she got his.
“I am so honored and proud to have a part of him carried within me,” said Mclendon, 54. “I feel like I want to live my best life for him as well because I want to carry on his legacy.”
Travis, 33, of Kennesaw, also saved the lives of others. His heart went to a 60-year-old man. His kidneys were given to a 52-year-old woman and a 44-year-old father. “Unfortunately, he was a smoker, so they couldn’t use his lungs,” his mother said.
Organ donations were made through LifeLink of Georgia while Travis was on life support at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. The organ transplant surgery took place at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.
Every year, more than 33,000 adults and children across the country receive a life-saving organ transplant, according to the nonprofit LifeLink Foundation. Travis was one of 902 donors in 2023.
The past year has been a roller-coaster of emotions for Mclendon, who is single and lives in her childhood house in East Cobb. In addition to Travis, she has a 32-year-old daughter and raised both in Cherokee County.
Travis graduated from Etowah High School in Woodstock and then earned an engineering design degree at ITT Technical Institute. But his real love and talents were in art.
“He was a great guy and an amazing artist,” said Mclendon, who plans to publish some of his artwork in a book.
She said her son was “a wonderful giver and lover of life” who had struggled with addictions.
Mclendon had her own health problems and was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Just weeks before son Travis’ death, Mclendon was told by her doctor that her liver was failing and she needed to get on the transplant waiting list. She filled out the papers and was waiting to be accepted.
At Kennestone, Mclendon learned that family members have first rights to their loved one’s organ or tissue donations, and she signed the papers to accept the liver on May 13, the day before Mother’s Day.
At that point, she had not told anyone, not even her mother, that she was sick and in need of a transplant. “I didn’t want to burden them,” she said.
The next day, she got an urgent call to come to Piedmont and had to explain her health situation to her mother as they headed to the hospital.
Mclendon underwent three days of testing to ensure a successful transplant. As she prepped for surgery, her son was given the traditional honor walk reserved for organ donors. Hospital staff lined the hallways and clapped for Travis as he was moved from his hospital room into the operating room.
On May 18, four days after Mother’s Day, Mclendon received her son’s liver.
“He’s always with me. I’m so proud to be able to say that, but it still seems surreal,” she said.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Recovery took six months, and now, after over a year, Mclendon is just returning to work as a hairstylist. She focuses on her longtime clients, some of whom she’s had throughout her 35-year career.
Mclendon hopes her son’s story will inspire others to become organ donors. She plans to enter Travis’s refurbished Honda in a car show, set up a booth with LifeLink information, and share the need for donors.
Earlier this year, Mclendon attended a Celebration of Life event at LifeLink. It was an open house to honor all donors for the past year. Loved ones sent in photos, and donors’ names filled a wall. She’s also sent letters through LifeLink to the other three organ recipients and hopes to make connections with them.
Mclendon remembers being at Piedmont, on the top floor transplant unit, surrounded by glass walls, waiting for the surgery. Everything was a blur. She battled thoughts of not being worthy.
“Truthfully, if it hadn’t happened so fast and I had time to think about it, I don’t know what I would have done,” she said.
During those inner struggles, she saw something flying outside the hospital window. It was a yellow monarch butterfly the size of her hand, flying up and down. It stopped in the middle of the window and fluttered, she said.
Butterflies have always been a part of Mclendon’s life, symbolizing many life events for her and her family. Travis knew how special they were to his mother.
“When I saw that, it gave me peace,” she said. “It was like my son was saying: ‘It’s going to be okay.’”
MORE DETAILS
One organ and tissue donor can save eight lives and improve dozens more.
Heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, small intestine, corneas, skin, heart valves, tendons, bones, veins and cartilage can be used to help patients in need.
Learn more about LifeLink at: lifelinkfoundation.org.
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