Beyond the Court: Organ Donation forges an Unlikely Connection
07/21/2023
A volleyball team from Indiana met a volleyball player from Georgia thanks to their shared goal of sharing the importance of organ donation
By Jane Huber
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 21, 2023) -- “Live life, then give life” is the motto at Grant County Volleyball Club (GCVC).
It’s on their social media accounts, emblazoned on their shirts, and something club director, Lori Elson, thinks about every single day.
When Lori first founded Grant County, her community was experiencing unimaginable tragedy.
Just months prior to the start of their first season, one of their athletes, Emilie Harnish, passed away in a car accident. Emilie was known for being highly driven on the volleyball court and having an outgoing personality that could light up a room.
However, Lori has no doubt that Emilie is best remembered at her club for what she gave to others after her passing, saving a multitude of lives as an organ donor, including three young children.
In a time when they were reeling from a sudden loss, GCVC made it their mission to promote organ donation to others, passing out net gifts to raise awareness to other clubs and even hosting an annual EmilieStrong tournament.
What Lori never imagined when they set out to carry on Emilie’s legacy was that her Indiana club would connect with an organ recipient all the way in Georgia, a young volleyball player by the name of Hadley Schoenborn.
At the age of nine, Hadley was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare condition that can seriously damage the liver and bile ducts. This meant she was immediately put on the transplant list for a new liver, receiving one months later from a young girl named Aubrey who tragically passed due to a brain tumor.
After undergoing transplant surgery, Hadley experienced many ups and downs as she tried to find her new normal. She fought through bouts of severe pain, missing school and other activities while recovering, even staying indoors for more than 400 days during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Hadley never forgets how Aubrey’s donation gave her a new lease on life.
“It feels like Aubrey is able to live on through me, and I think that’s really special,” Hadley said.
Incredibly, more than six years after her transplant, Hadley flew out to Indiana to share her story at Grant County’s EmilieStrong tournament, after her mother received one of their net gifts from a neighbor who attended an AAU tournament.
“I was excited to share about organ donation and how it has affected so many people positively,” she said.
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For Hadley, it allowed her to return to volleyball, a community she had been part of since elementary school.
“It’s family. Playing the sport, it gave me a safe space.”
Lori says it deeply inspired her athletes to hear from someone their age who was able to return to play again.
“It hit the kids hard, more personal,” she recalled.
Many of her players signed up to be organ donors after Hadley spoke, some as young as ten years old, with parent permission.
Lori strives to spread the message that organ donation is nothing to be scared of, having seen its impact firsthand.
“You just have to look into yourself deeply, and just consider what is it you want to do. Do you want to make a difference in this world? If something were to happen to you, you can give back and give someone else a chance at life.”
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 21, 2023) -- “Live life, then give life” is the motto at Grant County Volleyball Club (GCVC).
It’s on their social media accounts, emblazoned on their shirts, and something club director, Lori Elson, thinks about every single day.
When Lori first founded Grant County, her community was experiencing unimaginable tragedy.
Just months prior to the start of their first season, one of their athletes, Emilie Harnish, passed away in a car accident. Emilie was known for being highly driven on the volleyball court and having an outgoing personality that could light up a room.
However, Lori has no doubt that Emilie is best remembered at her club for what she gave to others after her passing, saving a multitude of lives as an organ donor, including three young children.
In a time when they were reeling from a sudden loss, GCVC made it their mission to promote organ donation to others, passing out net gifts to raise awareness to other clubs and even hosting an annual EmilieStrong tournament.
What Lori never imagined when they set out to carry on Emilie’s legacy was that her Indiana club would connect with an organ recipient all the way in Georgia, a young volleyball player by the name of Hadley Schoenborn.
At the age of nine, Hadley was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare condition that can seriously damage the liver and bile ducts. This meant she was immediately put on the transplant list for a new liver, receiving one months later from a young girl named Aubrey who tragically passed due to a brain tumor.
After undergoing transplant surgery, Hadley experienced many ups and downs as she tried to find her new normal. She fought through bouts of severe pain, missing school and other activities while recovering, even staying indoors for more than 400 days during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Hadley never forgets how Aubrey’s donation gave her a new lease on life.
“It feels like Aubrey is able to live on through me, and I think that’s really special,” Hadley said.
Incredibly, more than six years after her transplant, Hadley flew out to Indiana to share her story at Grant County’s EmilieStrong tournament, after her mother received one of their net gifts from a neighbor who attended an AAU tournament.
“I was excited to share about organ donation and how it has affected so many people positively,” she said.
For Hadley, it allowed her to return to volleyball, a community she had been part of since elementary school.
“It’s family. Playing the sport, it gave me a safe space.”
Lori says it deeply inspired her athletes to hear from someone their age who was able to return to play again.
“It hit the kids hard, more personal,” she recalled.
Many of her players signed up to be organ donors after Hadley spoke, some as young as ten years old, with parent permission.
Lori strives to spread the message that organ donation is nothing to be scared of, having seen its impact firsthand.
“You just have to look into yourself deeply, and just consider what is it you want to do. Do you want to make a difference in this world? If something were to happen to you, you can give back and give someone else a chance at life.”
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