By JOHN A. TORRES
© FLORIDA TODAY
JULY 26, 2009
Michaela Thomas loved having an opinion. Social issues or controversial topics never scared her away.
Nor did people. She could sit and watch people, strangers, for hours.
“She was opinionated but never judgmental, and that’s a rare combination,” her mother, Kathleen Yockey, said. “She could look into people’s hearts.
The Melbourne 21-year-old died June 30, two days after a car accident. Airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center, Thomas never regained consciousness. She was kept alive to do one last good deed: donate her organs.
With her daughter’s life slipping away, Yockey needed to let hundreds of family members and friends know what was going on. There were details to share and a plea for prayer. Yockey turned to the Internet social networking site, Facebook. The result was swift, as 655 members joined the online group to share stories and wait for news.
The mother was not surprised by the outpouring of love for her daughter nor the number of people who have responded.
“Very occasionally, one of our young people makes something of their own lives and impacts others,” Yockey said, adding that her daughter’s passion for life and others made her stand out. “She was never interested in fashion or popularity. She thought those things were frivolous.”
Online tribute
Through information updated on the site, hundreds were able to show up for her memorial, some coming from as far away as Panama, Iowa and Colorado. As a military child who studied abroad, Michaela had friends worldwide.
What remains on Facebook is an ongoing tribute to Thomas, something for her family to cherish. There are hundreds of photos of the blond Florida State University graduate who was looking forward to a career in education and had enrolled in graduate school.
There are shots of her bowling, baking, hiking, spending time with family and friends, mugging for the camera, swimming and grooming dogs. There also are a few childhood images, and then photos from her memorial earlier this month.
Michaela’s aunt, Kris Thomas Beaver, said her generous spirit helped even after death. “She was vibrant, beautiful and always the life of the party,” Beaver said from her Nebraska home. “I am thankful for the organ donations. In the big picture of life, we cannot be selfish; we must reach out to help one another.”
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Final good deed
For Yockey, the Internet allowed her to share her daughter’s final moments — even as doctors prepared Michaela for the organ donation — with family and friends. “(God) left her beautiful and breathing so that her family and friends could gather and comfort ourselves in the presence of her body,” Yockey wrote on the site. “To touch and hold, kiss and cry over, and say goodbye to her.
“And then when our goodbyes were said and we were ready in our hearts, we said a short prayer and asked God to be merciful and take her quickly and without us having to make any heart-rending decisions about her condition.”
Yockey said her daughter, who called those not signed up as organ donors “selfish,” went through a red light in her 2007 Honda Civic after the car she was behind made a right turn at the signal. Her car was struck at the intersection of Eau Gallie Boulevard and Sarno Road.
“We are heartbroken over the loss of our very first grandbaby,” said grandmother Judy Thomas. “She was so beautiful, inside and out.”
Friend Che Lina Dixon, who lives in the Jacksonville area, said she was grateful to be able to access a Web site that “brought all who love (Michaela) together.”
“The ‘Prayers for Michaela’ page creates a sense of connectivity to others that love her as much as I do,” she said. “When a group of people can support each other through the painful loss of someone as beautiful and inspirational as Michaela, they heal faster, or at least I feel it helped me.
“Like Michaela, people decided to take the happy memories and run with them with their heads held high.”
In addition to the “Prayers for Michaela Thomas” group, friends continue to visit the young woman’s Facebook page. Her last status report, on June 25, laments the loss of Michael Jackson. “Poor Michael Jackson,” she wrote. “Now that he’s no longer living, he’s just a plain ol’ legend.”
Contact Torres at 242-3649 or jtorres@floridatoday.com.
Final good deed
For Yockey, the Internet allowed her to share her daughter’s final moments — even as doctors prepared Michaela for the organ donation — with family and friends. “(God) left her beautiful and breathing so that her family and friends could gather and comfort ourselves in the presence of her body,” Yockey wrote on the site. “To touch and hold, kiss and cry over, and say goodbye to her.
“And then when our goodbyes were said and we were ready in our hearts, we said a short prayer and asked God to be merciful and take her quickly and without us having to make any heart-rending decisions about her condition.”
Yockey said her daughter, who called those not signed up as organ donors “selfish,” went through a red light in her 2007 Honda Civic after the car she was behind made a right turn at the signal. Her car was struck at the intersection of Eau Gallie Boulevard and Sarno Road.
“We are heartbroken over the loss of our very first grandbaby,” said grandmother Judy Thomas. “She was so beautiful, inside and out.”
Friend Che Lina Dixon, who lives in the Jacksonville area, said she was grateful to be able to access a Web site that “brought all who love (Michaela) together.”
“The ‘Prayers for Michaela’ page creates a sense of connectivity to others that love her as much as I do,” she said. “When a group of people can support each other through the painful loss of someone as beautiful and inspirational as Michaela, they heal faster, or at least I feel it helped me.
“Like Michaela, people decided to take the happy memories and run with them with their heads held high.”
In addition to the “Prayers for Michaela Thomas” group, friends continue to visit the young woman’s Facebook page. Her last status report, on June 25, laments the loss of Michael Jackson. “Poor Michael Jackson,” she wrote. “Now that he’s no longer living, he’s just a plain ol’ legend.”
Contact Torres at 242-3649 or jtorres@floridatoday.com.
Read this article on the Florida Today site.
