Cory was a loving brother, devoted father and proud grandfather. Cory loved to go fishing and was always the joker. On August 8, 2008, Cory , at the age of 44, died of a brain aneurysm.

A few states away lay a young woman in the hospital. She was 30 years old, a wife and mother. She was also dying. An acute liver failure had put her in a week long coma, unaware that her life was slowly slipping away. The doctors had only hours left to find a suitable liver that could save her life. Two previously offered livers were not a good match. With only a handful of hours left before the high toxin levels in her body would render her brain dead, a liver was found. The transplant was a success!

That liver donor was Cory and the young woman’s life he saved was mine.

April is National Donate Life Month and to honor my organ donor, Cory, I have made these socks in his name.

** Thank you to all of those who purchased the Cory Sock Pattern during the April Donate Life Month. After much thought, I have decided to continue to donate all profits from the sale of this sock pattern to Donate Life. **

The meaning behind the green cord:

Green is the color for organ donor awareness.

Knitters know how quickly a perfect project can change. In a matter of a few rows or even a few stitches, what was once a beautiful garment suddenly turns into an awful mess. This is why we use a lifeline to help us in case our project starts going in the wrong direction. That lifeline helps us to pick up the pieces and prevents us from having to unravel all our hard work when things start to fall apart.

When you are faced with the need for an organ transplant, your whole world changes. It becomes a frightening waiting game, knowing that hundreds of people die every year waiting for an organ that will never come. Yet, when you choose to become an organ donor, you become that lifeline that saves a life from falling apart.