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"I feel blessed to have the peace of mind, knowing that my
mother is well-treated and well cared for at St. Anne's Mead.
She enjoys Kosher Meals-on-Wheels on Passover and routine
visits from community Rabbis. The staff and administration
respect my mom for who she is. St. Anne's Mead is my
mother's home and a part of my family".
Joined at the heart: top, Zach, Karly and Michael Stillman; bottom, Amy
and Guy Mulligan with their two sons, Kalen, 4, and Grayson, 6, and Alicia
Stillman.
— Sharon Landau Levine
Heart To Heart
Assisted Living. Nursing Care.
16106 W. 12 Mile Rd., Southfield, MI 48076 248.557.1221
www.stannesmead.org
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Special to the Jewish News
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62
November 28 • 2013
fig
Stillman family meets transplant
recipients saved by their daughter's
donated organs.
E
mily Stillman, 19, of West
Bloomfield, a vibrant, beauti-
ful, college sophomore, died
tragically back in February from a
sudden, aggressive case of bacterial
meningitis. She was
vaccinated against
the illness, but
somehow contracted
a strain that is not
covered by vaccines
in the United States.
The night before
she
slipped into
Emily Stillman
a coma, Emily
called her mother to say she had a
bad headache and was going to sleep
early. A few hours later, her headache
got worse and she was rushed to the
hospital.
"I never saw her eyes open again. I
never got to talk to her again:' Alicia
Stillman says. "The next morning, I
got a call from the dean [of Kalamazoo
College] telling me to come to the hos-
pital right away. I did, but Emily never
regained consciousness:'
The disease claimed the young
woman's life, but it didn't stop her
heart. Her heart still beats to this day
in the chest of a young husband and
father, a doctor from Ohio, who need-
ed a life-saving organ transplant. He's
one of five recipients of Emily's organs;
her family made the painful decision
to donate her heart, kidneys, pancreas,
liver and one lung after initially turn-
ing a Gift of Life representative away.
All of a sudden, I felt a chill up the
back of my neck and I knew it was
the wrong decision [to say no]:' Alicia
Stillman, Emily's mother, explained. "I
said, 'Oh, my God, we made a mistake.
We have to do this!"'
The Stillmans consulted with their
rabbi, Michael Moskowitz of Temple
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, to
find out whether organ donation is
permitted by Jewish law. He told them
"it's the biggest mitzvah [good deed]
you'll ever be able to do:' Now, the
Stillman family is seeing firsthand the
good that has come out of their tragic
loss and their selfless decision.
Heart Comes Home
On Oct. 26, Guy Mulligan, 34, his
wife, Amy, and their sons, Kalen,
4, and Grayson, 6, traveled to West
Bloomfield to meet the Stillman
family. The endocrinologist at the
Cleveland Clinic was in an intensive
care unit; his heart was damaged and
failing after surviving childhood can-
cer. Emily's heart saved his life.