¸.♪♫♥Lullabye and Goodnight♥♫♪.¸
by Jennifer Cohron Daily Mountain Eagle
Savannah Faith Sides used to tell her family that she was going to Hollywood one day. Her dream will come true on New Year's Day, though not in the way she hoped or her parents expected.
Savannah, who died in a car accident when she was 5 years old, will represent Alabama on the Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
Her mother, Sandy Sides, received the news recently from the Alabama Organ Center that Savannah was one of five donors in the state chosen for the honor. A rose dedicated to Savannah will appear in the float's Family Circle Garden.
"It means a lot to us," Sides said.
The theme for this year's Donate Life float is "Seize the Day," and Sides said that her daughter did just that every day of her short life.
A month before her death in 2007, Savannah insisted that she be allowed to sign up as an organ donor when she saw her parents registering online.
Sides said she took her daughter in her lap and explained that becoming an organ donor was a very mature decision for a little girl to make.
Savannah had an answer that was wise beyond her years.
"She said, ‘Mommy, I'm not going to need them when I get to heaven. You need to sign me up,'" Sides said.
Neither one knew that one month later they would be involved in a car accident when someone fell asleep at the wheel and hit them head-on while they were on their way to Curry Elementary School.
Sides kept her word. Because of Savannah's decision to become an organ donor, an 18-month-old girl named Alexis received a liver transplant. She is 5 today and doing well.
Savannah's kidneys, eye tissue and heart valves helped others.
Sides and her husband, Stephen, also host the Savannah Faith Miracle Ride each year in their daughter's memory. Nearly $5,000 was raised when the event was held in May.
The beneficiary of next year's ride is Jessica Carter, a 23-year-old local woman who is waiting for a kidney transplant.
Sides said the rides help her family heal as much as the patients who receive the proceeds.
"It makes us feel like Savannah didn't die in vain. We're trying to make something good out of it by helping someone else," Sides said.
Daily Mountain Eagle -
~~~~~
THANK YOU to each visitor to Savannah's page, for pausing to leave flowers and notes and say a prayer for her family. God bless...
~~~~~
May 17, 2007
A five-year-old girl critically injured in a head-on collision Tuesday morning has died.
Savannah Sides, a kindergarten student at Curry Elementary School, died Tuesday afternoon at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.
Sides was injured when the vehicle she was riding in with her mother collided head-on with another vehicle on Alabama 195.
Sides' mother, Sandy Sides, and Erika Tucker of Nauvoo, who was driving the other vehicle, were also seriously injured.
Sandy Sides was airlifted by AirEvac LifeTeam helicopter to UAB Medical Center in Birmingham. Tucker was taken by ambulance to Walker Baptist Medical Center.
An Alabama State Trooper spokesperson said the accident happened about 7:30 Tuesday morning in the Manchester community, about six miles north of Jasper. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Curry Elementary School principal Steven Rowe said extra counselors were brought to the school Wednesday to help students cope with the tragedy.
"This was a tragic thing to happen in our community, and we're going to provide as much support as we can for our students and this family," Rowe said. "We try to be like family and love each other as much as we can. We're going to help each other get through this.
"We are also concerned about Savannah's mother and her father as well as her other siblings, and we are going to keep them in our prayers."
Copyright 2007, 2008 Daily Mountain Eagle, All Rights Reserved.
---
By Ashley Nix
JASPER, AL (WBRC) - One precocious little girl's decision has saved the lives of five people and her life will be honored New Year's Day in the Tournament of Roses Parade on the Donate Life float.
Almost four years ago, Savannah Sides, a five-year-old from Jasper, said something her mother, Sandy, will never forget.
"Savannah came into the computer room and said, ‘Mom, what are you doing?' I said ‘I'm signing me, and Bubba and Sissy and Daddy up to be organ donors' and she said, ‘Well I want to do that."
Sandy said she sat her daughter her lap and explained what organ donation was all about.
"And she looked at me with just the most serious look and said, ‘Mom, I'm not going to need it when I go to heaven… you need to sign me up.' It was like she knew it was coming."
Sadly, one month later little Savannah died in a car accident, however her decision to be an organ donor ended up saving the lives of five people, including a then 18-month-old girl, Alexis, who needed a liver transplant. Now five-years-old, the Sides family keeps in close contact with Alexis and will talk to her this Christmas.
"Getting to play with her and run and play and the way she took to us was just a wonderful, wonderful experience," Stephen Sides, Savannah's father said.
Along with five others from the state of Alabama, Savannah's name will appear on the float in the nationally televised parade. Her parents say they are overwhelmed, but know the painful tragedy has changed their lives forever.
"Typical 5-year-olds don't ask to be an organ donor," Sandy said. "She touched a lot of lives and we didn't know until she was gone."
Copyright 2010 WBRC. All rights reserved.
ღ♥ღೋೋღ♥ღ
1 Jan 2011 was Savannah's day to shine as a beautiful presence in the Rose Parade. She and other designated organ donors were each represented by a rose in the parade. You are in our hearts and thoughts, Savannah, and we are so proud of you, Honey. Thank you and your wonderful family for all you are doing for those in need of transplants.
ღ♥ღೋೋღ♥ღ
¸.♪♫♥Lullabye and Goodnight♥♫♪.¸
by Jennifer Cohron Daily Mountain Eagle
Savannah Faith Sides used to tell her family that she was going to Hollywood one day. Her dream will come true on New Year's Day, though not in the way she hoped or her parents expected.
Savannah, who died in a car accident when she was 5 years old, will represent Alabama on the Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
Her mother, Sandy Sides, received the news recently from the Alabama Organ Center that Savannah was one of five donors in the state chosen for the honor. A rose dedicated to Savannah will appear in the float's Family Circle Garden.
"It means a lot to us," Sides said.
The theme for this year's Donate Life float is "Seize the Day," and Sides said that her daughter did just that every day of her short life.
A month before her death in 2007, Savannah insisted that she be allowed to sign up as an organ donor when she saw her parents registering online.
Sides said she took her daughter in her lap and explained that becoming an organ donor was a very mature decision for a little girl to make.
Savannah had an answer that was wise beyond her years.
"She said, ‘Mommy, I'm not going to need them when I get to heaven. You need to sign me up,'" Sides said.
Neither one knew that one month later they would be involved in a car accident when someone fell asleep at the wheel and hit them head-on while they were on their way to Curry Elementary School.
Sides kept her word. Because of Savannah's decision to become an organ donor, an 18-month-old girl named Alexis received a liver transplant. She is 5 today and doing well.
Savannah's kidneys, eye tissue and heart valves helped others.
Sides and her husband, Stephen, also host the Savannah Faith Miracle Ride each year in their daughter's memory. Nearly $5,000 was raised when the event was held in May.
The beneficiary of next year's ride is Jessica Carter, a 23-year-old local woman who is waiting for a kidney transplant.
Sides said the rides help her family heal as much as the patients who receive the proceeds.
"It makes us feel like Savannah didn't die in vain. We're trying to make something good out of it by helping someone else," Sides said.
Daily Mountain Eagle -
~~~~~
THANK YOU to each visitor to Savannah's page, for pausing to leave flowers and notes and say a prayer for her family. God bless...
~~~~~
May 17, 2007
A five-year-old girl critically injured in a head-on collision Tuesday morning has died.
Savannah Sides, a kindergarten student at Curry Elementary School, died Tuesday afternoon at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.
Sides was injured when the vehicle she was riding in with her mother collided head-on with another vehicle on Alabama 195.
Sides' mother, Sandy Sides, and Erika Tucker of Nauvoo, who was driving the other vehicle, were also seriously injured.
Sandy Sides was airlifted by AirEvac LifeTeam helicopter to UAB Medical Center in Birmingham. Tucker was taken by ambulance to Walker Baptist Medical Center.
An Alabama State Trooper spokesperson said the accident happened about 7:30 Tuesday morning in the Manchester community, about six miles north of Jasper. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Curry Elementary School principal Steven Rowe said extra counselors were brought to the school Wednesday to help students cope with the tragedy.
"This was a tragic thing to happen in our community, and we're going to provide as much support as we can for our students and this family," Rowe said. "We try to be like family and love each other as much as we can. We're going to help each other get through this.
"We are also concerned about Savannah's mother and her father as well as her other siblings, and we are going to keep them in our prayers."
Copyright 2007, 2008 Daily Mountain Eagle, All Rights Reserved.
---
By Ashley Nix
JASPER, AL (WBRC) - One precocious little girl's decision has saved the lives of five people and her life will be honored New Year's Day in the Tournament of Roses Parade on the Donate Life float.
Almost four years ago, Savannah Sides, a five-year-old from Jasper, said something her mother, Sandy, will never forget.
"Savannah came into the computer room and said, ‘Mom, what are you doing?' I said ‘I'm signing me, and Bubba and Sissy and Daddy up to be organ donors' and she said, ‘Well I want to do that."
Sandy said she sat her daughter her lap and explained what organ donation was all about.
"And she looked at me with just the most serious look and said, ‘Mom, I'm not going to need it when I go to heaven… you need to sign me up.' It was like she knew it was coming."
Sadly, one month later little Savannah died in a car accident, however her decision to be an organ donor ended up saving the lives of five people, including a then 18-month-old girl, Alexis, who needed a liver transplant. Now five-years-old, the Sides family keeps in close contact with Alexis and will talk to her this Christmas.
"Getting to play with her and run and play and the way she took to us was just a wonderful, wonderful experience," Stephen Sides, Savannah's father said.
Along with five others from the state of Alabama, Savannah's name will appear on the float in the nationally televised parade. Her parents say they are overwhelmed, but know the painful tragedy has changed their lives forever.
"Typical 5-year-olds don't ask to be an organ donor," Sandy said. "She touched a lot of lives and we didn't know until she was gone."
Copyright 2010 WBRC. All rights reserved.
ღ♥ღೋೋღ♥ღ
1 Jan 2011 was Savannah's day to shine as a beautiful presence in the Rose Parade. She and other designated organ donors were each represented by a rose in the parade. You are in our hearts and thoughts, Savannah, and we are so proud of you, Honey. Thank you and your wonderful family for all you are doing for those in need of transplants.
ღ♥ღೋೋღ♥ღ
