Community Corner

A Message Dear to One Cerritos Resident's Heart: "Recycle Yourself"

Cora Johnson, a longtime Cerritos resident, will be riding aboard the Donate Life float in today's Rose Parade in Pasadena. She hopes to inspire others to "Recycle Yourself" through organ and tissue donation.

Each year millions across the world tune in to watch the revelry and beauty of the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena. And this year, if you look closely at one of the floats, you just may spot a Cerritos resident who says she plans to have the ride of her life.

Today, longtime local Cora Johnson will be donning a bright red sweatshirt and a proud smile along with 27 other riders aboard Donate Life’s ninth Rose Parade float titled “…One More Day.” (See float sketch in image carousel.)

“Our riders were carefully selected by sponsors to represent the millions of people who participate in and benefit from organ, eye, and tissue donation and transplantation,” said Bryan Stewart, chairman of the Donate Life float committee and vice president of communications at OneLegacy, the non-profit organ and tissue organization serving the greater Los Angeles area.

Find out what's happening in Cerritos-Artesiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 28 riders, who range in age from 17 to 67, represent a spectrum of donors and recipients, including four living kidney donors, nine organ recipients, four tissue recipients and 10 donor family members – one of them being the 67-year-old Johnson.

Cerritos Resident Rides Float in Memory of Late Husband -- a Successful Donor Recipient

Find out what's happening in Cerritos-Artesiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the retired teacher and Donate Life ambassador, it will be her first time participating in the revered New Year’s tradition.

“I have helped make Donate Life floats before, but have never been on it,” Johnson said. “Oh my gosh, it will just be an amazing experience to be waving to people and seeing all those thousands along the route. I am looking forward to it and have already been practicing my wave.“

But with her excitement also comes reflection on the reason why she has become so involved with the organ donation cause.  In May 2001, Johnson’s husband Bob received a heart transplant – a day that gave the couple a fresh new start.

“When he had his transplant it was like a miracle and a gift, it was a blessing because it allowed us to have quality life together again,” she said.

When Cora and Bob married in 1970, they knew nothing of the wild ride they would experience over the course of their lives together. Bob had his first heart attack in 1990 and was placed on the transplant waiting list in 2000.

“He was OK after his first heart attack and had a bypass in 1993,” Johnson said. “But then he got congestive heart failure and his health declined. After that, he wasn't able to go out and travel much and enjoy life. So we had to be careful with his heart and we couldn't go to high altitude places.”

Because of Bob's condition, they spent most of their time at the Cerritos home where they had lived for nearly 40 years. And in between that, time was spent in and out of the hospital.

Struggling through the final stages of congestive heart failure, Bob spent 17 days at Cedars in April 2001, and during that stretch he often heard helicopters landing on the hospital’s helipad – a sound that meant the chopper was carrying critically ill patients and accident victims to the hospital – individuals who might have been potential organ donors.

But on May 6, 2001, the helicopter sounded a bit different, perhaps because it was carrying a heart meant for him.

That same night, Bob received the heart that once belonged to Tim Baptista, a vibrant 20-year-old who succumbed to injuries suffered when he fell from a cliff in Santa Barbara during a birthday party, Johnson said.

“It was a good strong heart,” she said. “The surgeon said it started to beat before she could even get it sewn in.”

The transplant, she says, was nothing short of a blessing.

“My husband was within two weeks or less of checking out of this earth when we got the heart and instead, his life was extended another 8.5 years,” she said gratefully. “For me that was a true gift of generosity and a blessing for the both of us.”

A New Heart, A New Start

The couple spent the next chapter of their lives being active Mended Hearts and Donate Life Ambassadors, volunteering their time to educate the community about organ donation and the difference it could make in the lives of others.

“Bob was able to go out and inspire people with his story and so I will say to people, just sign up and if you think you can't help, you never know. Let the doctor decide -- there might be a way for you to donate something,” she said.

During the remainder of Bob’s life, he resumed playing golf, began traveling again and returned to the active life he was once accustomed to. And in 2004, the couple finally got the chance to meet the family who helped bring Bob back to life.

“We were able to meet Tim’s family and it really was like meeting a second family. We just instantly bonded and it was just an awesome experience,” said Johnson.

The pair also attended the Baptista family’s annual fundraisers in the Bay Area – a yearly Crab Cioppino Dinner and a Golf Tournament. The monies raised from these events through the Tim Baptista Memorial Fund are donated to Tim’s alma mater, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco, where the funds are used for scholarships and school projects.

Inspiring Others to Recycle Life

Bob sadly passed away in 2009 from non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but years later, Johnson still dedicates her time to organ donation efforts and education. Today she is considered one of the “Golden Girls” -- six senior women who are among the most active Donate Life ambassadors, volunteering several times a week at the communications office for Donate Life in Placentia, Calif.

“The Golden Girls are all retired ladies and I'm the youngest at 67,” she chuckled.

“We do all kinds of things, like stuff envelopes, make packages to send out to Donate Life Ambassadors and we make buttons for the Donate Life Walk," she added. "We have a good time doing it and it’s our way of giving back and for me to pay it forward.”

But above all, Johnson hopes her efforts will help educate and encourage others to sign up for the organ and tissue donation registry.

“Obviously this cause is near and dear to my heart, but with your organs you could save up to eight people’s lives and enhance up to 50 people lives with tissue donation,” she said. “And so I would say ‘recycle yourself,’ by doing so, you kind of live on and can help somebody else extend their life.”

How Do I Sign Up to Be An Organ or Tissue Donor?

You can sign up to be an organ and tissue donor in California two different ways:

1. Visit www.donatelifecalifornia.org and sign up online

2. When you renew or apply for a driver license or ID with the DMV, register your decision to be a donor in the Donate Life California Registry by checking the little donor box off on your application. The pink "DONOR" dot symbol will then be pre-printed on your driver license or ID card. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Cerritos-Artesia