News and Media Relations
Rose Parade float honors fallen Mesa County deputy – 9News, Denver, CO
Kate Geer was selected to ride the Donate Life float in memory of Deputy Derek Geer, who was shot in the line of duty last February while trying to arrest a suspect with an outstanding warrant. Geer was taken off life support at the hospital days later. His heart, liver and both kidneys helped save four lives. Kate was among nearly two dozen others selected to ride this year’s float, which honored organ donors and recipients. The float’s design depicted a Polynesian catamaran with sails featuring the floral portraits of 60 donors. Donor Alliance, which facilitates donations in Colorado and Wyoming, was also one of the float’s sponsors.
A hero in life and death, fallen officer saved lives through organ donation- Denver Post
Derek Geer is a hero. The Navy veteran served to protect the people of Mesa County and died in the line of duty when a suspect shot him in February. He became a hero a second time by donating his organs. Four individuals now benefit from Geer’s posthumous gift. His heart, liver and kidneys all went to others in need. For those equally moved by this story, one way to honor Kate and Derek Geer is to become an organ and tissue donor.
Coyotes Help Raise Awareness for Organ Donations – KCWY 13, Casper, WY
When a goalie covers up the puck in the opponent’s offensive zone, it gives a chance for his team to halt the opposition’s momentum. For a heart recipient in Casper, he was given an opportunity to get out of a corner and take the puck to the opposite side.
My Name Is… Eamon Lujan – Longmont Sentinel, Longmont, CO
I am a sixth-grader at Euclid Middle School. I was born with an underdeveloped heart and had a heart transplant when I was three months old, on Jan. 30, 2005. I like video games and I like school a lot, because it gives me something interesting to do and keeps me busy. I think my situation gives me a more meaningful take on life. I’m really aware of things happening around me and what I should be doing with my life. I want to be a pediatric transplant coordinator when I grow u
Fallen Mesa County deputy continues to save lives through his donated organs – Denver Post
By the time Kate Geer arrived at the hospital, it was too late. Her husband, Mesa County sheriff’s Deputy Derek Geer, had been shot several times by a teenager and was lying in a hospital bed. Doctors told her that the loving, selfless man she had built a life with was gone. There was nothing more they could do.“My friend kept coaxing me to talk to him,” Kate Geer recounted in an interview Friday. “But I couldn’t. Inside, I knew he was already gone. There was nothing to be done except to donate his organs.” Now, 10 months after the February shooting that killed Geer, his decision to be an organ donor has provided the family he left behind with four bittersweet ways to remember — and in a way continue — the fallen officer’s life.
Deputy Geer’s organs live on – The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, CO
When Kate and Derek were walking out of the courthouse after getting their marriage license, Derek Geer brought up the idea of organ donation. He told Kate how important he thought it was. That you wouldn’t need your organs after you died anyway, and that it could save someone else’s life.
Wife of fallen deputy to rise in Rose Parade – KGCT ABC 8, Grand Junction, CO
“We literally got married at the courthouse on November 8, 1999 and we walked over to the driver’s license bureau, because I had just moved here. I went to apply for my licenses and he made sure I checked that box,” said Kate Geer, Deputy Geer’s wife. Deputy Geer donated his two kidneys, heart and liver, saving the lives of four people. “It feels good knowing him losing his life wasn’t in vain, that parts of him are literally living on,” said Kate. Kate is carrying the torch for her husband’s cause.
Celebrate the Gift of Life This Holiday Season – YourHub, Denver Post
This time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and forget to take a moment to be grateful for what you have. Pediatric heart recipient Eamon Lujan talks about his journey and what the “Gift of Life” means to him and his family.
Life’s Most Special Gift – KGWN-TV CBS 4, Cheyenne, WY
Dylan Rasmussen lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he’s 23 years old, married and says he is living an amazing life. However, 12 years ago Dylan wasn’t sure if he would ever make it. Thanks to life’s most special gift from a Colorado teenager he is thriving today.
Moms Everyday with Donor Alliance – Moms Everyday, Casper, WY
Alison with Donate Life Wyoming sits down with Moms Everyday to talk about organ, eye and tissue donation in Wyoming.
Broncos Coach Offers Much More Than Running Back Advice – 9News, Denver, CO
Broncos running backs coach, Eric Studesville, preaches giving, and does so in the face of loss. Studesville’s parents were killed in a motorcycle accident in 2013. Eric is a single child and was extremely close to his parents. He says he is trying to move forward a little bit each day and things are slowly getting easier. His work with Donor Alliance has helped as well. Studesville’s mom was a living organ donor, so it’s a cause that is near and dear to him. He speaks out for Donor Alliance and tries to help others that have dealt with similar tragic situations.
My Name Is: Carl Miller – Lakewood Sentinel, Lakewood, CO
I had my heart attack on Thanksgiving Day 2000, and was admitted to UCH, where I spent the next five months in intensive care. One balloon pump device kept my heart beating for those five months. In March of 2001, I became the third person in the state to receive a left ventricular assist device. After a couple of weeks on that, I finally received a transplant in April 2001.