It is one of life’s greatest joys to be able to pay proper homage to true hero’s. The one’s that maybe nobody but you knows about. They have given you hope, when you have had none of your own to spare. They have inspired greatness in you, where other’s only saw mediocrity. They have taken true care of your heart, and remained faithful to not only the love they have for you, but the faith they have IN you. It is a great privilege for me to be able to introduce to you the three hero’s we have chosen to name our Fund in honor of.
“Emma” is a superhero with those of us at Willing Donors. It is the name of the mother who chose to donate her 18 year old daughters kidney. That kidney was a perfect match and was transplanted into 12 year old Jessica Mae. She gave the grandest of gifts in her darkest hours and not a day goes by that we don’t honor this woman, and the many like her.
Harder is our own Jessie Mae's surname. Jessie's start in life was considerably less than a fairytale. She was born with quite a few life threatening conditions, and a birth mother who was unable to cope with any of those conditions. Dennis and Deborah Harder agreed to foster this very sick infant girl and never balked at the amount of time, attention and care she would need. They are truly the reason that Jessie is here with us today. They loved and took exceptional care of her as foster parents, and eventually decided to make legal what God had already ordained. The Harder family is one worthy of not only admiration, but emulation. They took in a child, despite being told the only outcome was heartache. Dennis a blue collar country boy, and Deborah an LPN adored not only Jessica but each other. Jessica had open heart surgery to repair a birth defect when she was 3, and the family had barely time to breathe a sigh of relief that she was going to live, when they were struck with the news that Dennis had colon cancer. Deborah Harder cared day in and day out for both the man she adored and the baby she had always wanted. She was the soul support for the family at times, and she was a full time caretaker to the ENTIRE family 24/7. Her love and dedication and devotion sadly was no cure for the monster that is cancer. The Harder women were forced to say an early goodbye to the man that held both their hearts in the palm of his generous loving hands. Widowed young, and with a 6 year old Deborah soldiered on. The two Harder women still had not had time to grieve their loss, when they were hit yet again. 7 year old Jessica was diagnosed with renal failure. A whole new battle began.
Dennis Harder, Deborah Harder and Jessica Harder personify the never give up never surrender attitude it takes to be a hero. They are the BEST kind of hero's, because they are real. They remain a unit, despite death, illness and distance. None of them have ever walked away because something was too hard, or given up because they had lost faith or hope. I have no doubt that the man who loved these women to the very core of his soul is smiling down immeasurably proud of his girls.
It is both an honor and a challenge to live up to this family's legacy.
