CARIBOU, Maine — A large crowd gathered as Cary Medical Center staff dedicated a bench to the memory of Ann King. For over two decades, King worked as a registered nurse at Cary Medical Center and also as the New England Organ Bank liaison for northern Maine. Members of the New England Organ Bank, an organization based in Waltham, Mass., drove north for the dedication on Monday.
“One of my favorite memories of Ann was at our liaison meeting in Augusta,” said Laura Huckestein, New England Organ Bank donation coordinator. “Ann never missed a meeting. Ever. She was always there, and she was one of those people who educated everybody. She went to the funeral director in this community, to high schools. [During the Liaison meetings] we would always have her say what she was doing in Cary. One day we were at our meeting, she comes with this jacket on and opens it up to show off a T-shirt that says ‘Of course I’m an organ donor. Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?’
“She wore that to our meeting and showed everybody, and that’s her. That’s how she was. She loved life. You know the one that word comes to mind when I try to describe Ann? It’s sparkle. She was tireless. She had energy, and would help you in any way you needed,” Huckestein added.
“Shortly after I asked Ann to become liaison for the New England Organ Bank, there was a wrestling match in our community,” said Cary Medical Center CEO Kris Doody. “A man collapsed during the match at Caribou High School. Ann happened to be there, along with one of our physicians. They both performed CPR on the young man. She continued to assist the man until he arrived at our hospital, but he unfortunately died.
“Ann was scheduled to work that night, so she was at the hospital when the young man’s parents arrived. She described what had happened and how they tried desperately to save this man’s life. She hugged and consoled them, and stayed with them as they saw their dead son for the first time.
“She compassionately offered to them the option of organ and tissue donation, and they agreed. That shocking loss of their young son was turned into another’s hope; a burn patient who may need skin, a blind patient who needs a cornea, or maybe a young child who needs a heart valve. She helped this family turn tragedy into living legacy,” Doody said.
The bench, donated by the New England Organ Bank, is made out of freshwater stone and granite.
“We had it engraved with a saying for organ donation, which I think is so true,” said Huckestein. “It goes ‘To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.’ That’s how Ann was. She wasn’t an organ donor, but for us, she was all that.”
