Donor Mother Honors Son with Portrait for Rose Parade

Mother Alejandra Rivera (left) and son Fernando Rivera (right)

On Monday, Dec. 16, donor mother, Alejandra Rivera of Phoenix, will be at Donor Network of Arizona (DNA) from 1-2 p.m. to add the finishing touches to the floragraph, a portrait made from organic materials, of her son, Fernando Rivera.

The recipient of Fernando’s heart, Greg Welsh of Goodyear, will be at the event, located at 201 W. Coolidge in Phoenix, as well. The floragraph will then be placed on the Donate Life Float with 81 other floragraphs from across the country for the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2014.

While the floragraphs on the Donate Life Float remember the legacy and generosity of organ and tissue donors throughout the country, the 30 riders of the Donate Life Float celebrate the gifts from donors, as the riders are the recipients of those life-saving and life-healing gifts.

Alejandra will travel to Pasadena to watch Greg, representing Arizona, as he rides the float and honors her son. Greg is alive today due to the generosity of Fernando’s family.

On the night of March 17, 2011, 17-year-old Fernando said goodnight to his parents, gave his mother a kiss and went to his room to go to sleep. Hours later, Fernando’s parents were awakened by the sound of loud gunshots near their home. Fernando’s father first rushed outside, assuming the noise came from the street. When he saw nothing outside, he went inside to check on his son. It was then that he found Fernando lying in his bed with multiple bullet wounds in his head.

Fernando passed away at the hospital that evening, and it was Alejandra who asked the doctors if her son would be able to donate his organs. Fernando’s gift saved the lives of five people. “I knew I could turn this tragedy into good news for someone. My son would have wanted to be a light for other people.”

After the transplant, Alejandra and Greg became close friends. “I’m so grateful to have Alejandra in my life and for the gift she and her son have given me,” says Greg. “It’s something I treasure and take care of and value. There are no words to explain my gratitude.”

Alejandra takes joy in knowing that Fernando’s gift has given Greg more time with his daughter, Cassandra. “Her eyes light up like Greg’s,” she says. “I am so happy to see them together, that Cassandra has her father today because of Fernando.”

CEOs and other representatives from a number of Arizona hospitals have been invited to the floragraph finishing event as well. These individuals wrote words of encouragement, hope and thanks on the tags of individual roses that will be displayed in a special Dedication Garden that adorns the Donate Life Float.

For more information about the Donate Life Float, visit DonateLifeFloat.org.