Saturday, September 1, 2012
Please view Older Posts
If you are visiting for the first time, please visit Older Posts down at the bottom!!!! Thanks!!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Senior Newspaper
http://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=MTYtMTcucGRmOjo6L3d3dzEwL3NjaG9vbHMvZ2EvYmFydG93L2ltYWdlcy9hdHRhY2gvMjYxOTYvMjEwOThfMjYxOTZfYXR0YWNoXzMyODQucGRm
Click on the links, they are from the Senior newspaper. It is the 4 page feature honoring Austin. There are two links the one above this text and the one below this texts. Check them out. His friends are awesome!!
http://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=MTgtMTkucGRmOjo6L3d3dzEwL3NjaG9vbHMvZ2EvYmFydG93L2ltYWdlcy9hdHRhY2gvMjYxOTYvMjEwOThfMjYxOTZfYXR0YWNoXzMyODYucGRm
Click on the links, they are from the Senior newspaper. It is the 4 page feature honoring Austin. There are two links the one above this text and the one below this texts. Check them out. His friends are awesome!!
http://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=MTgtMTkucGRmOjo6L3d3dzEwL3NjaG9vbHMvZ2EvYmFydG93L2ltYWdlcy9hdHRhY2gvMjYxOTYvMjEwOThfMjYxOTZfYXR0YWNoXzMyODYucGRm
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
My locket
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Saved by the blood of Christ
This picture is very special to me. It was taken when Austin went to Camp Glisson the very first time. He received Christ during this week long Methodist camp during the summer when he was around 9 years old. The look on his face tells it all. He had a strong belief in Jesus and often shared it with others.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Organ Donation....Paying It Forward
The following is a copy of the letter I received from LifeLink of Georgia.....
Dear Ms. Harriss,
On behalf of LifeLink of Georgia, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to you and your family for the loss of your son, Austin. The death of someone you love is the most painful event that one can experience. I would like to thank you for your support of Austin's decision to donate.
I would like to share with you a little information about the recipients who were able to receive an organ for transplant only because of your willingness to honor your son's wishes.
One of your son's kidneys and his pancreas were transplanted into a 51 year-old lady, who is married. It was reported that there was immediate function of the organs following the transplant surgery.
Austin's other kidney was transplanted into a 72 year-old gentleman from Georgia. He is married and is retired. He had been on the transplant waiting list since April of 2008. His transplant coordinator reported that he was in good condition and he has been discharged from the hospital.
A 52 year-old gentleman from Georgia received your son's liver. He is married and has two children. His transplant coordinator informed us that he had been on the transplant waiting list since April of this year.
Your son's heart was transplanted into a 69 year-old gentleman from Maryland. He is married, has three children and works as an attorney. He had been on the transplant waiting list since May of 2009. His transplant coordinator reported that his heart was functioning well following the transplant surgery.
Both of Austin's lungs were transplanted into a 66 year-old gentleman from Ohio. He is married, has four children and works part time in IT. He enjoys motorcycles and playing with his grandchildren. He had been on the transplant waiting list since April of this year. It was also reported that his lungs were functioning well following the transplant surgery.
The bone tissue that was recovered from Austin will be used to benefit up to 20 separate individuals who suffer from a variety of orthopedic problems, including injuries resulting from trauma, defects caused by tumors, and various other orthopedic deformities. The use of whole bone grafts has, in some instances, eliminated the need for an amputation of a diseased limb and has resulted in improving the quality of life of the recipient.
Your son's saphenous veins were recovered and will be used in bypass surgeries, like coronary artery bypass surgery, to replace the blocked vessels in a heart with inadequate blood flow.
As you can see, the value of these gifts is immeasurable. I hope that you can derive some comfort from the knowledge that your son was able to give these precious gifts that will make such a positive impact on the lives of others. I have enclosed the booklet, For Those Who Give and Grieve, with the hope that it will provide additional support and information regarding organ and tissue donation. A phamphet is also included containing guidelines for writing to the recipient if you desire to do so in the future.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any futher assistance to you. Again, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Benn Parker
Donation Coordinator
Dear Ms. Harriss,
On behalf of LifeLink of Georgia, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to you and your family for the loss of your son, Austin. The death of someone you love is the most painful event that one can experience. I would like to thank you for your support of Austin's decision to donate.
I would like to share with you a little information about the recipients who were able to receive an organ for transplant only because of your willingness to honor your son's wishes.
One of your son's kidneys and his pancreas were transplanted into a 51 year-old lady, who is married. It was reported that there was immediate function of the organs following the transplant surgery.
Austin's other kidney was transplanted into a 72 year-old gentleman from Georgia. He is married and is retired. He had been on the transplant waiting list since April of 2008. His transplant coordinator reported that he was in good condition and he has been discharged from the hospital.
A 52 year-old gentleman from Georgia received your son's liver. He is married and has two children. His transplant coordinator informed us that he had been on the transplant waiting list since April of this year.
Your son's heart was transplanted into a 69 year-old gentleman from Maryland. He is married, has three children and works as an attorney. He had been on the transplant waiting list since May of 2009. His transplant coordinator reported that his heart was functioning well following the transplant surgery.
Both of Austin's lungs were transplanted into a 66 year-old gentleman from Ohio. He is married, has four children and works part time in IT. He enjoys motorcycles and playing with his grandchildren. He had been on the transplant waiting list since April of this year. It was also reported that his lungs were functioning well following the transplant surgery.
The bone tissue that was recovered from Austin will be used to benefit up to 20 separate individuals who suffer from a variety of orthopedic problems, including injuries resulting from trauma, defects caused by tumors, and various other orthopedic deformities. The use of whole bone grafts has, in some instances, eliminated the need for an amputation of a diseased limb and has resulted in improving the quality of life of the recipient.
Your son's saphenous veins were recovered and will be used in bypass surgeries, like coronary artery bypass surgery, to replace the blocked vessels in a heart with inadequate blood flow.
As you can see, the value of these gifts is immeasurable. I hope that you can derive some comfort from the knowledge that your son was able to give these precious gifts that will make such a positive impact on the lives of others. I have enclosed the booklet, For Those Who Give and Grieve, with the hope that it will provide additional support and information regarding organ and tissue donation. A phamphet is also included containing guidelines for writing to the recipient if you desire to do so in the future.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any futher assistance to you. Again, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Benn Parker
Donation Coordinator
Harrison Pajarito posted on Austin's wall
This was written by Austin's friend Harrison Pajarito and was posted the day after his passing by Harrison on his Facebook page.
man life is too real to be worried about nonsense just lost my
bestfriend that i grew up with and didnt even get to see what he was gonna be
as an adult always stood up for each other and talked about situations in life
deeper than any conversation i could ever have with my parents. life comes and
goes. thats why i gotta live my life better and make something of it. god is
letting me live for a purpose that i yet to have found but, i will keep
searching and try everyday to be the person i was born to be. i Love You Austin Harriss and will always be thinking about you even when im at my
lowest. your life inspired mine to be more than i ever thought i could be and i
thank the lord for putting you in it. R.I.P My Brother. always remebered!
Lacey Brady posted on Austin's FB wall
This was written by Lacey Brady one of Austin's classmates and posted on his Facebook page.
I don't know how I'm supposed
to start this... But these past few nights I've had the craziest dreams, and in
every single one of them,you were there,I mean I don't mind because I get to
see you again,but it just makes it hard to know when I wake up,you're not here
anymore,Your death has impacted the people in this town ,really your
town,you've been the main talk for a while now,in a way I can’t explain.There is
still an emptiness lingering throughout this place.Every where really,You were
taken away from us way too soon. And way to suddenly, if you were here,Right
now,you'd prolly be hanging with michael &some more of our friends,if it
was like last summer,maybe even with me, we would be getting ready to have a
great night,laughing,dancing,and singing to the most random songs, or you would
be doing what you always done,and randomly build a fire when you were bored,
you would set anything on fire,
Didn't care who's it was or what it was, and
you would say,"it's not mine, so it's not my problem." lol,I still
haven't went to six flags any this summer because last summer,you were there
with us. Though me and you argued sometimes over stupid things, I'm glad we
made up,I still have the beads you gave me hanging on my mirror,summer just
isn't the same without you.Nothing will be the same without you, and that goes
for most people in the town,if only you could see what you've done, you'd been
so proud, how many people you brought together,How many people you brought to
God,if superheroes really existed you'd definitely be one, because it was
almost impossible for the people you brought together to Ever even talk, And
people who mocked God now worship him because of the tragic we went through
when you left,You saved us, all of us, In some way, everyone in the town you
touched their heart,especially Shanna,she was telling me she wanted to drop
out, but not anymore,she's making sure she graduates for you,since you
Passed
her down your candle at changing of the guard,she's going to keep your light
burning, she's going to finish school,since unfortunately we lost you 2 weeks
before you were supposed to graduate.You had so many friends and family that
love you deeply,I’ll always carry you with me. Because you taught everyone so
much when you were here & now If losing you has taught me anything,it's to
let go of grudges, live freely and forgive others,also the true meaning of
selfishness,how truly lucky I am to be alive even when I have rough days,now I
still try to find the beauty in life.& to hold onto every single memory and
picture you have with somebody.. I hate that i can’t find all of our pictures
we had together,from middle school and freshman year, when we would hangout
sometimes at football games with adam,I wish I still had the video I made of
you from Chanse's house one night.Those were some funny memories.I know you’re
up there watching down on us all,and when you do I hope you're smiling with
that bright smile of yours. I hope heavens everything it’s made out to be,and I
hope you’ve met all the amazing people you’ve always wanted to meet,I know your
with your poppy. I remember one night at like 3 am, you were telling us about
him,and how much you've missed him,until you were in tears.I’ll never forget
the last time I saw you,I’ll never forget one of the last conversations we
had,It wasn't even two weeks until your death, but Chanse& some of his
friends were wanting me to go hang out with them,then they said they were going
to your place,You were texting me That night saying you'd come pick me up,and
just asking me to go since we haven't hung out in a while,but it was almost
midnight,I knew my parents wouldn't have let me leave anyways,and plus I was so
tired,so I told you no, we'll hang out some other time,but I didn't know that
the some other time would turn into afterlife.Im sorry I didn't go, if only I
could go back to that night, I would've been there in a heartbeat,
unfortunately life has no rewind buttons, and if it did,no one would ever learn
to move forward, I’ll never forget anything. The way you always wore
beanies,and played Hackey Sack,How the name wise guys was created between
you,chance,& michael, lololol,how you were our dhod one time ahah,The way
I'd see you in the hallway at school and you'd purposely run into me and with a
stupid voice say "sorryy" or when we saw each other we would give
each other the meanest look for about three seconds and start laughing,The way
you used to beg me to have a seizure because you wanted to see what it looked
like, even though you already have seen me have one many times before.lol
(which by the way, I haven't had one in almost a month:D), most importantly
I'll never forget your killer smile,your sense of humor,your admirable confidence,Your
positive attitude toward things,your passion,and your generosity to
everyone,you never cared what kind of people you were friends with, you never
had to be in a certain group you just excepted people for who they really were
and you loved them no matter what..Somedays I still can't believe you're
gone,When I go into Kroger I hope your there working and I'll run into you, but
your not going to be there,and it's hard to spend summer without you,But I
guess there were bigger and better plans out there written for your life,So I
just have to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the memories you gave me
in your short time here on earth. They will be cherished forever,and as I
continue to live on,despite what happened,I'll live with my head held high
because that's what you would what everyone to do,and most importantly what
ever life throws at me,I will live fearless,because I'm not afraid of anything
anymore,because nothing is worse than losing a friend like you.
Rest in
paradise. See you again someday.♥
Monday, July 30, 2012
Just getting started....
Austin had an awesome life. I want to tell his story but would also like to have communication with others who have lost their loved ones and experienced the love of God during such a difficult time. I am looking forward to telling his awesome story and to show you all the incredible things others have shared with me about my son. The purpose of this blog is to honor my son Austin and to tell his story. God is awesome and deserves all the glory for getting us through this time in our lives. God held me up and introduced himself to many teenagers who were a part of Austin's life.
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