Life after death

[The Straight Story]

Life after death
by Sarah Holcomb

Michael De Jesus lived by the mantra, "Live each day as if there is no tomorrow."

The active Milpitas teenager was an inspiration to many before he was shot and killed outside a San Jose party in November 2005, but even in death, he has given at least one man life.

After 14 months waiting to get on a transplant list, Las Vegas resident Michael O'Neil, then 59, received Michael De Jesus' heart, shortly after the young ballplayer's death.

All the O'Neils knew about the heart was that it came from an 18-year-old.

"We knew nothing else," Shirley O'Neil said. "We were asked to write a letter to the donor family if we wanted to, so I got a card and thanked them. I wrote about how appreciative we were. I wrote a lot. It was an emotional time."

Maria De Jesus, Michael's mother, said she told her children six months before Michael's death that she was an organ donor. She said Michael and his sister, Maureen, agreed they wanted to do the same.

http://www.themilpitaspost.com/local/ci_6206309