Bowen Joseph Milito
Below is an inspirational story written by Corrina Milito, the mother of a blood recipient.
On the morning of March 10th, 2011, Bowen Joseph was born…. a son to us, Corrina & Zack, a brother to Maeve, almost six.
“Moments after birth, every parent’s worst nightmare began to unfold; something was terribly wrong and Bowen was taken to NICU.”
Five days later, Bo underwent a long and grueling open heart surgery where he bled out and required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for full cardiac and pulmonary support for the coming days.
“Twenty days and countless blood transfusions later, while laying peacefully in my arms with Daddy beside us, Bowen Joseph gave up the fight.”
Losing a child is devastating. I instantly understood how it could easily destroy or unite a family, debilitate or motivate a mother. We are choosing to unite and motivate each other and use our grief to invigorate our desire to give back and to pay it forward. Join us as we give the gift of life by giving blood… in Bo’s memory.
Make an appointment to donate blood for Bo at the Team BoHawk Blood Drive on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Ed Martin Honda at 770 N Shadeland Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46219.
For more information about this, previous, and future drives, and other ways to help, visit Corrina and Zach’s blog.
Corrina, thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. Your motivation to give back is an inspiration to everyone. Let’s all take an hour out of our day to Raise Our Sleeves for Bo and his courageous fight.
