Phyllis Grumbine
Transplant Recipient - Organ
Living Donor
“Can I tell you one thing about my grandmother?” Phyllis’s 12 year old grandson Sam asks, standing in the tire park at Gunpowder State Park. “She was the kind of person who always cared about what you had to say. She always listened.” Between stories of Phyllis planning Easter egg hunts, attending her grandchildren’s concerts or dance recitals and cooking the very best sugar cookies, it is hard to imagine Phyllis so active while she was struggling with kidney failure. In 2007, Phyllis received a kidney transplant from her sister-in-law, giving her the gift of time with the family she loved so dearly. When Phyllis died unexpectedly of a stroke in 2012, her family knew she would want to help someone else as an organ donor, not just because transplant touched her personally, but because giving was at the core of who she was. “She lived her life for her family,” Phyllis’s daughter Lacy explains, looking down at her pregnant belly. “I learned from my mom how to be a mom. Though Phyllis won’t be here to meet baby Brody, there is no doubt he will know her through the stories, memories and legacy of love she has left with the Grumbine family.
