Tim McCormick
Tim McCormick is an exceptional person. A faithful Omaha blood donor, Tim shared his lifesaving blood three times a year for ten years.
He says he often hears people say, "I never get sick. Why should I give blood if I never get it back?" He answers, "You never know."
Twice in 2003, Tim's words rang true in his own life.
In August, Tim had open heart surgery. He received three units of blood during surgery, available because he and other generous blood donors had taken the time to think of others.
At home just 13 days after his surgery, he was wakened early one morning to find his son's truck had been stripped. He saw the thieves, who were stripping a neighbor's car nearby. He tiptoed outside to get their license number. One of the burglars spotted him and fired. McCormick was hit in the femoral artery, the main carrier of blood between the heart and the leg. The donor-turned-recipient was going to need blood again immediately!
Jennie McCormick saw Tim get hit. She cried out, "Oh, dear Lord, help my husband!" McCormick's neighbors called 911, and rushed to his side. As the emergency personnel pumped blood into McCormick, they called the homicide unit, anticipating his death. At the hospital, doctors warned Jennie that Tim might not make it. If he did, he would lose his leg. She called their church's prayer chain. By 8 a.m., about a thousand people were praying for his life.
Today, a joyful Tim McCormick says, "It's miraculous. We had all those prayers, the blood, the right doctors, the right care, at the right time and place. My leg is still here. I'm walking. I can play with my kids again."
McCormick is aware that his blood donation in August may well have returned to him when his life depended on it in September. He experienced the full circle of giving and receiving. People should give blood because, he says, "you just never know."