Kathy Pinna
"J.J. will never really be gone"
the following article appeared on The Oklahoman website on May 10, 2002, written by Jim Killackey:
Teen's organs give new life to four ailing Oklahomans
Curiosity, unbridled enthusiasm despite a handicap and a sacrificial nature prompted Elk City teen-ager Jeremiah Justin "J.J." Cogburn to sign a state organ donor card when he got his driver's license May 22 on his 16th birthday, his mother said Thursday.
Eleven months later, that decision led to separate life-saving transplants for four Oklahomans who received five of Cogburn's vital organs.
"When I look at these organ recipients, I see a little part of him," Cogburn's mother, Michelle Cogburn, said Thursday at Integris Baptist Medical Center. "J.J. will never really be gone." Cogburn and her husband, Roby Cogburn, met the four transplant recipients for the first time Thursday:
- Charles Perry, 57, of Oklahoma City received Cogburn's heart.
- Jerrall Evans, 37, of Ponca City received a kidney and pancreas.
- Michael Wright, 37, of Ratliff City had a liver transplant.
- Joyce Elcyzyn, 53, of Oklahoma City received Cogburn's other kidney.
J.J. Cogburn died April 21 after an automobile accident on Interstate 40. "If that young man could be with me right here today, I'd tell him 'Thank you, God bless you and the Lord be with you,'" Perry said Thursday after a news conference with affected families and Oklahoma City transplant surgeons.
Perry suffered a debilitating 1971 heart attack from undeveloped arteries and has been on a heart transplant list since 1995. He said he wants to be a computer programmer, and attend University of Oklahoma football games.
Perry received his heart because of a decision J.J. Cogburn made last May.
Michelle Cogburn, a registered nurse and licensed paramedic, remembers it this way: "When he went to get his driver's license, the Elk City tag agent told him about the organ donor card. J.J. said 'That's so cool. I want to do that. I want to be an organ donor.' My son believed he could do anything."
Deaf since childhood, J.J. Cogburn - at 5-foot-10 and 230 pounds - was a nose guard and middle linebacker for the Elk City High School football team last fall. He played football earlier at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf in Sulphur. "He overcame a lot of things in his life," Roby Cogburn said.
Michelle Cogburn, who cried often during the news conference, said her son was a voracious reader and had an IQ of 156. The teen looked forward to his 17th birthday, hoping for new tires for his 1967 pearl-white Ford Mustang, she said. He was adept at sign language. One goal was to play football at OU in Norman, his father said.
The teen-ager died April 21 at OU Medical Center. The sport utility vehicle he was driving westbound on I-40 rolled and crashed in Canadian County after he was involved in a chase that started near Elk City. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and Clinton police officers were involved in the 95-mile pursuit. Authorities gave no reason for the incident. Within 24 hours of the wreck, the teen's vital organs were retrieved for transplantation by Oklahoma Organ Sharing Network clinicians; the four organ recipients were summoned to Baptist Medical Center.
Perry's heart transplant was first, followed by Wright's liver operation, Evans' kidney and pancreas transplants, and, finally, the donor kidney for Elcyzyn. All the surgeries were completed April 22. "I'm still amazed that any 16-year-old boy would make a decision to be an organ donor," Elcyzyn said Thursday. Evans, who is legally blind, said, "I've been a diabetic for 20 years, but I'm not a diabetic anymore... because of J.J.'s gift."
Teen's organs give new life to four ailing Oklahomans
Curiosity, unbridled enthusiasm despite a handicap and a sacrificial nature prompted Elk City teen-ager Jeremiah Justin "J.J." Cogburn to sign a state organ donor card when he got his driver's license May 22 on his 16th birthday, his mother said Thursday.
Eleven months later, that decision led to separate life-saving transplants for four Oklahomans who received five of Cogburn's vital organs.
"When I look at these organ recipients, I see a little part of him," Cogburn's mother, Michelle Cogburn, said Thursday at Integris Baptist Medical Center. "J.J. will never really be gone." Cogburn and her husband, Roby Cogburn, met the four transplant recipients for the first time Thursday:
- Charles Perry, 57, of Oklahoma City received Cogburn's heart.
- Jerrall Evans, 37, of Ponca City received a kidney and pancreas.
- Michael Wright, 37, of Ratliff City had a liver transplant.
- Joyce Elcyzyn, 53, of Oklahoma City received Cogburn's other kidney.
J.J. Cogburn died April 21 after an automobile accident on Interstate 40. "If that young man could be with me right here today, I'd tell him 'Thank you, God bless you and the Lord be with you,'" Perry said Thursday after a news conference with affected families and Oklahoma City transplant surgeons.
Perry suffered a debilitating 1971 heart attack from undeveloped arteries and has been on a heart transplant list since 1995. He said he wants to be a computer programmer, and attend University of Oklahoma football games.
Perry received his heart because of a decision J.J. Cogburn made last May.
Michelle Cogburn, a registered nurse and licensed paramedic, remembers it this way: "When he went to get his driver's license, the Elk City tag agent told him about the organ donor card. J.J. said 'That's so cool. I want to do that. I want to be an organ donor.' My son believed he could do anything."
Deaf since childhood, J.J. Cogburn - at 5-foot-10 and 230 pounds - was a nose guard and middle linebacker for the Elk City High School football team last fall. He played football earlier at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf in Sulphur. "He overcame a lot of things in his life," Roby Cogburn said.
Michelle Cogburn, who cried often during the news conference, said her son was a voracious reader and had an IQ of 156. The teen looked forward to his 17th birthday, hoping for new tires for his 1967 pearl-white Ford Mustang, she said. He was adept at sign language. One goal was to play football at OU in Norman, his father said.
The teen-ager died April 21 at OU Medical Center. The sport utility vehicle he was driving westbound on I-40 rolled and crashed in Canadian County after he was involved in a chase that started near Elk City. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and Clinton police officers were involved in the 95-mile pursuit. Authorities gave no reason for the incident. Within 24 hours of the wreck, the teen's vital organs were retrieved for transplantation by Oklahoma Organ Sharing Network clinicians; the four organ recipients were summoned to Baptist Medical Center.
Perry's heart transplant was first, followed by Wright's liver operation, Evans' kidney and pancreas transplants, and, finally, the donor kidney for Elcyzyn. All the surgeries were completed April 22. "I'm still amazed that any 16-year-old boy would make a decision to be an organ donor," Elcyzyn said Thursday. Evans, who is legally blind, said, "I've been a diabetic for 20 years, but I'm not a diabetic anymore... because of J.J.'s gift."
