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Virtual Legacy Garden

A space for honoring and celebrating those who have given the gift of sight. 

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Saving Sight Virtual Legacy Garden

Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.
–Helen Keller

In 2019, 2,942 heroes gave the gift of sight though eye donation with Saving Sight. We are continually looking for new ways to celebrate our donors as well as their families who helped to make their gifts possible. Saving Sight is creating a virtual legacy garden hosted on our Instagram as an additional way to remember and honor our donors, especially during these times of limited human interaction.

A virtual memorial is an online space created for the purpose of remembering, celebrating, and commemorating those who have passed and we hope our legacy garden will live on and continue to grow for years to come.

We encourage our donor families to contribute their own garden themed photos in remembrance of their loved one along with a special story or quote to be featured on our Instagram. There is no deadline, and families may contribute at any time.

We hope our garden is a source of beauty, hope, and connection for both our donor families and recipients alike, and we encourage visiting our Instagram to share kind comments of remembrance and support as our garden begins to bloom.

To submit your own contribution, please complete the form below.

Ben’s Story: A Journey of Sight, Life, and Gratitude

For Ben, life has been full of surprises—some tough, others miraculous. His journey as a triple transplant recipient is a testament to the power of eye, organ, and tissue donation and the generosity of others. During his years as a high school teacher, cross-country...
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A New View on Life: Matt’s Cornea Transplant Journey

For Matt, a cornea transplant meant the difference between fading vision and a world brought back into focus. Matt’s journey began unexpectedly after a seemingly minor ear infection ruptured as he slept. As he wiped his pillowcase, discharge from his ruptured eardrum,...
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Honoring Chad: A Mother’s Tribute to Love and Legacy

Chad, a vibrant soul with a zest for life, left a mark on those who knew him. "He was a very happy person," Linda fondly recalls. "He loved to have fun, joking and wrestling around." Tragically, Chad's journey came to an end in January 2017 due to a car accident....
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Kathy’s Journey of Restored Sight Through Transplantation

Kathy's journey to restored sight began after her cataract surgery in the fall of 2023. The procedure that she expected would improve her vision did not deliver the results that she was expecting and led to the discovery of underlying vision issues. “After my cataract...
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ScottHagerty photo

Transplant Recipient’s Vision Twice Renewed

Scott's journey to restored vision began on a farm in central Kansas when he was 19. After unloading grain from storage bins, Scott noticed that his left eye had swollen shut. Scott eventually found his way to Dr. Bruce Grene in Wichita, Kansas where he was treated...
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A Transplant Becomes an Opportunity for Regained Sight

For years, Karie of Kansas City, MO, suffered from reduced vision in her right eye after a bout with shingles while on chemotherapy. She was left with scarring from the shingles on her eye that impacted her vision and resulted in corneal blindness. At first, she was...
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Neal’s Restored Vision Provides New Clarity

Neal's life took a transformative turn in April 2022 when he underwent a corneal transplant, bringing newfound hope and clarity to his world. Neal, a resident of Kansas City, suffered from Fuchs Dystrophy, a progressive eye condition that clouded his vision and...
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Transplant Recipient Begins 2023 With a New View

“Frankly, I was thinking that there was a good chance that I was going to lose my sight, and it didn’t occur to me to think about a transplant.”

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Restored Vision Gives Funeral Home Director New View

As a funeral director, Diantha worked closely with the eye donation process for many years in her family’s funeral home. She often spoke with families whose loved ones had chosen to give the gift of sight, and therefore was very familiar with Saving Sight and its...
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Changing Lives Through Sight Restoration in Tanzania

On July 2, 2021, Saving Sight distributed 6 corneal tissues to the  Donor Network of Arizona to be used by one of their surgeons in Tanzania for a mission trip. Dr. LeeSa Jackson joined Dr. Elisante Jackson Muna at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center to perform a...
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Legacy Garden Submission

  • If you would like to preserve the anonymity of your loved one, feel free to use nicknames or first names with only a last initial.
  • Accepted file types: jpg, png, pdf, gif, tiff, Max. file size: 20 MB.
    Please upload a garden themed picture to represent your loved one (i.e., favorite flower, favorite bird, a garden landscape).
  • Accepted file types: jpg, png, pdf, gif, tiff, Max. file size: 20 MB.
    If you wish, upload a photo of your loved one here.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.