From pumping up his brother's football team for their next win to keeping his best friend company on a hospital floor while his friend’s dad was sick, Jared Lamirato had lots of energy and love for life. He could always brighten your day with his big smile and bright blue eyes. He lived non-stop – playing offense and defense in high school football, doing crazy flips on the wakeboard, and bull riding. He worked hard and played hard.

After high school, Jared’s passion was to serve his country as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, which time was cut short due to injuries he suffered playing football. Although devastated, he still wanted to help others, so he signed up for EMS courses to become a firefighter.

Just after midnight on December 27, 2009, 20-year-old Jared was rushed to the hospital with a severe head injury, a subdural hematoma, after a tragic accident. The next day, doctors informed his family that there was nothing more they could do for him.

“Later, the director of the ICU told us ‘in my 17 years working here, I have never seen the patient waiting room so full of friends and family waiting to see one person,’” recalled Mary, Jared’s mother. “She also informed us that Jared had already decided to be an organ donor. Things changed at that point, and now our focus was to save his organs, especially his heart, for as everyone who knew him would tell you, he had a big heart.

“Once the donation processes started, it helped us with our closure. We were able to spend more time with him. It was as if he was just sleeping. The staff was great and allowed us to stay with Jared as long as we needed to. It meant a lot to hold his warm hand, kiss him on the forehead and say our goodbyes.”