The floral sculpture will include 21 floragraphs - artistic portraits created using spices, seeds and other organic materials to cover a digitized photograph - of the selected individuals that have saved lives as an eye, organ or tissue donor, a press release from the Community Tissue Services said.
“I feel so blessed and I am so honored that they are doing this with him because David is such a giving and loving person. He always gave of himself to his friends and family. If anybody needed anything he was there and then for them to honor him, it just shows how much more he still gave and that he is still giving,” Carmela Wiant, Money’s mother said.
In early December, Money’s family completed his floragraph by adding on his eyebrows.
“I was so thankful,” Wiant said. “It was so surreal being able to be a part of something my son gave of himself.”
Money’s tissue donation helped save and enhance the lives of over 100 individuals, the release said.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Wiant told the News-Sun that his donation helped twins that were burned in a fire, a person who was able to avoid an amputation, injured athletes and patients suffering from severe back pain.
After his death, Wiant worked with officials and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to develop a Next of Kin registry to make it easier for authorities to contact family members in case of a traffic accident or similar emergencies. The registry was created in 2008.
She told the News-Sun that she was notified of her son’s death over the phone by a hospital chaplain that did not know who she was. She said her goal was to make sure other people didn’t have to find out about the passing of their loved ones the same way she did.
Wiant described her son as helpful, determined, caring, a family guy and a baseball player.
“He was a good friend to his friends. He would be there. He would help people. He would help strangers and even after he passed away he was still giving and helping people,” Wiant said.
Even though there will not be a Rose Bowl Parade this year because of the pandemic, Donate Life will be part of the Tournament of Roses 2021 TV special, “The Rose Parade’s New Year Celebration presented by Honda,” airing on Jan. 1.
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