Family and Friends,

As many of you know, Jenny Meyer’s 17-year-old son, Thomas Carter had a drowning incident. He was at a Wauzeka pool party on Saturday night.

Local first responders were quick to the scene, along with his family and friends to help revive him. His heart started again, but it was clear that his condition was critical, so he was med-flighted to UW Children’s Hospital in Madison. His heart had stopped for over an hour, but they were only able to keep him stable, and he was put into a medically induced coma.

After his MRI, we found that he had severe brain damage from the lack of oxygen during his cardiac arrest. He also was showing some brain swelling, but it was mild, and we were hopeful.

However, the swelling spiked, and it turned into a brain aneurysm. We were told that it only goes down from here and to prepare for the worst. Family and friends were notified and gathered around, hoping and praying he would be the 1%.

It soon became clear that he was not going to survive, so Jenny made the hardest decision any mother ever has to make and let him go. Those closest to him stayed until the final wisp of a brain wave faded away, and Tommy, as we knew him, was gone.

True to Tommy’s caring nature, he always made it clear that he believed in being an organ donor. He wanted to help others, even in tragedy. Jenny is donating his organs to the Children’s Hospital, so he can live on in others as a hero to those who needed him. He has been assigned a team that will gather his eight gifts so that some other mother won't have to make these same decisions. And we cannot think of a more appropriate way to honor his memory as the kind, funny, loving young man that he was.

Over the last week, and as the donation process and his final transition happens, Jenny is being stretched to the limit in many ways. She has been traveling back and forth 2 hours each way between the hospital and home, as a single mom of 5 with 2 still at home. At times, she has stayed overnight as much as she could with Tommy. At this time, with the medical bills, the upcoming services, and burial, it has already begun to take a financial toll. We cannot imagine what the days, weeks, or months ahead will be like for Jenny as she grieves the loss of her child. But what we DO know is that she and Tommy’s siblings need community and support now more than ever.

So in honor of our sweet Tommy, please donate what you can. It is to help give him the funeral and burial he wanted, and it will support Jenny and his siblings during this heartbreaking time. Please share it far and wide, because we’re calling all angels…❤️

“Calling all Angels, calling all Angels

Walk me through this one, don't leave me alone;

Calling all Angels, calling all Angels

We're trying, we're hoping, but we're not sure how…”

From his loving aunt, Raquel Meyer, and Erin Ford.