Ralston firefighter still saving lives, even in death
At 2:30 a.m. Friday, hundreds of people lined the hallways of Creighton University Medical Center for Ralston Firefighter Brian Saathoff.
Fellow firefighters, family members, friends and medical staff came together to honor his wishes of helping others.
“He was the type of person that brings everybody together,” Ralston Fire Chief Kevin Eisheid said. “If a task needed done, it would get done with Brian.”
Brian was declared brain dead on Monday, but on Friday he took a final hero walk as he was rolled into the organ retrieval operating room.
“Waiting rooms are filled with people,” Live On Nebraska Family Support Coordinator Paula Wallace said. “That hall was lined with people that cared about him and every single person that’s going to receive an organ from him has a lobby like that.”
Wallace said you can’t count the number of people that are impacted by every single organ donation.
“It just really shows the type of guy Brian was,” Eisheid said. “He was about family and everybody there cares about him. And we just wanted to say our proper goodbyes by being there.”
The group Live On Nebraska said Brian’s heart, kidneys and liver will save multiple lives. Also, his body will provide tissue donations that will potentially heal up to 100 people.
