Teen Son Takes Own Life After Years of Bullying. Grieving Mom Hears His Heartbeat Once Again
As bullying has become more prominent and taken new forms through online interaction, there have been more victims than ever. No one’s immune to it.
Joanie Zavala, mother to Teddy Perry, knows that the bullying her son endured led to his eventual passing last October. At just 19, he ended his life.
Zavala remembers the call she got informing her that her child was gone: “I knew right then and there, everything was going to change,” she said.
But she wasn’t about to let his legacy end there, and since his death his organs have gone to improve — and even save — the lives of others.
Ed Melde is one of those recipients, and he’d been waiting a long time to catch a break. According to KCCI, he hadn’t been able to work for a decade due to heart failure.
Jackie Melde, his wife, had set up a GoFundMe to try to raise money to help them through their difficult time. Since he wasn’t able to work, and she had to take care of him, they were in a tough spot financially.
“Its been a pretty rough couple of months,” Jackie wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Ed is still on the transplant list. He has been hospitalized in Iowa City on and off for most of the past month.”
“He had a bleed which required blood (transfusions) and was in the hospital for two weeks, He was home for a week before being readmitted for c-diff from the antibiotics they used when he had a bleed.”
“He was home for 3 days then readmitted with breathing and fluid issues,” she continued. “He is still in the hospital, but hopefully coming home soon. The way it looks now he will need to be on oxygen until he (receives) his transplant.”
“I have not been able to work, and the travel expenses and bills are getting the best of us. I hate having to ask for help again, but really dont know what else to do. Work has been really great about giving me time off, but I have used up all of my vacation time, so my time off is unpaid.”
For them, Teddy’s gift was a miracle. “If I wouldn’t have went through with (the transplant), then I probably wouldn’t be alive now,” Ed admitted.
For the heartbroken mother, seeing a part of her son continue on and bring life to others is a great comfort.
“Even if they were given another week of their life, as long as they felt better for that week, that would help me, but this is beyond expectation,” she said.
Zavala has already managed to meet other recipients, but this one was special: She got to hear her son’s heart beating again. She’s planning on meeting a fifth recipient in October.
And now that he’s doing better, Ed will even get to start work again — an incredible blessing for the family that has struggled for 10 years.
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