HealthLinksSC.com | 81 “I did a happy dance with the nurses before I went into surgery,” Lauer said. “Surgery to me is like riding a bike.” Lauer had no way of knowing that this ride would take a frightening detour that called for what Lauer and others know was another miracle. In the middle of the transplant surgery, Lauer’s heart stopped. “I was gone; my heart arrested,” he explained. “The MUSC transplant team, led by Dr. Derek Allen Dubay, knew exactly what to do. I did come back.” Lauer noted that he saw bright lights and felt a “hurricane force” that he believes were “people’s prayers and thoughts bringing me back.” “I am so grateful for everything. I made it back home in time for Christmas 2018,” Lauer said. Since 2018, Lauer has taken every Nov. 29 off to celebrate the anniversary of his new life with a healthy liver. It’s a birthday to him – a huge birthday that represents the gift of life. “I have felt like I’m in my 30s since the transplant,” Lauer said. Since 2018, Lauer has given back to transplant recipients, donors and nonprofit organizations such as We Are Sharing Hope SC, Donate Life and The National Kidney Foundation. For five years, he has worn his Donate Life recipient pin to work and everywhere else because “it brings attention to the need for donors, and it opens up conversation,” he said. When Lauer is not working at the South Carolina Department of Education, he meets with donor families, listens to their stories and shares some of his journey and the emotions along the way. He mentors pre- and post-transplant patients, and he has worked with volunteers and the general public. Lauer has even spoken to members of the state Legislature. “I feel a great need to give back and tell my story to those who are not as familiar with donation so they are more comfortable saying ‘yes’ to signing up as an organ, eye and tissue donor,” Lauer said. Each time Lauer connects with a donor family, he thinks of his donor hero. He respects and understands that meeting her family is not meant to be – at least for now. “It’s really OK,” he said. “Each donor family I meet feels like my donor family, and I tell them what I’d want to tell my real one: ‘Because of her, every day I can give back is a gift. I want to give more because she, and everyone I have met since my transplant, continue to inspire me.’” To learn more about Keith Lauer’s health history, visit sharinghopesc.org.
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