Holmdel Teen Honored in Rose Bowl Parade for Organ Donation

HOLMDEL, NJ - Courtney Dayback, a Holmdel High School graduate, died in 2008. On Monday, Courtney will be honored at the 128th Rose Bowl Parade with a float in her honor, bearing a picture of her face, because she gave the gift of life to seven strangers through organ donation. Look for Courtney's float near the beginning of the Rose Bowl parade, which kicks off at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST and will be broadcast on all the major networks.

Her parents, Linda and Dennis Dayback, residents for the past 26 years of Bayberry Lane in Holmdel, are already in Pasadena for the parade and big game. They are meeting families and people from all over the country who have either received a donated organ or have loved ones who donated organs.

"It's like a big family. We're all part of a fraternity that nobody really wants to be a part of," Dennis told Patch on Thursday.

It was Thursday morning, Sept. 4, 2008. Courtney was 18 and sitting in class at Brookdale Community College. She was in her second year there and studying to be a special education teacher. All of a sudden, she collapsed to the floor. Teachers and other students called 911, and Courtney's best friend held her hand the entire time until EMS arrived.

"The EMS crews were really, really great. They tried everything to bring her back, and actually were able to revive her five times. But each time her heart just stopped," said Linda. She was rushed to Riverview Medical Center, but there was little doctors could do for her. Although Courtney had had some minor heart issues in the past, her family was told she suffered a freak accident — a complete cardiac arrest.

"She was in a coma and on life support for 12 days. Machines were breathing for her," Linda said. "On the twelfth day, Sept. 15, 2008, she spiked a 107-degree fever. She went completely brain dead. That was when the hospital asked us whether we would consider organ donation and my husband and I just looked at each other and said, 'Yes.'"

In a strange twist of fate, Sept. 15, 2008 was also Courtney's 19th birthday. She died the next day, at Riverview, in the hospital where she was born. But her organs — her pancreas, liver, lungs, and corneas from her eyes — went to seven strangers. Her heart was donated to scientific research. Her kidneys went to a woman who had been living on dialysis for years.

"Courtney was a giving person, she would give you the shirt off her back," said her mother. "When she spiked the fever, we knew she would never want to live like that. There would have been no quality of life for her. So when they asked us, we knew it was the right decision right away." Courtney loved to babysit children and she was known as a great babysitter, her parents said. In high school, she worked at the Brookdale Community College daycare and also at the Holmdel Shop-Rite.

"She was always very hard-working," her mother, Linda, said. "Work, school and her boyfriend - that was her life."

Now, the Daybacks want Courtney's story to be remembered. Through Team Courtney, they have since raised $100,000 for NJ Sharing Network, which connects organ donors with those in need. Team Courtney volunteers worked at Soul Kitchen in Union Beach and the Daybacks adopted a family in Hazlet through the RAINE Foundation this past Christmas in her name. They say they would love to one day meet one of the people who received their daughter's organs.

"At first, we didn't want to meet them. It was too hard to even think about. But now we'd love to just see somebody that part of Courtney is in. It keeps her alive in our hearts," said Dennis. "We just want people to remember her name and what she did. The biggest thing with organ donation is just awareness and having people understand what it's all about."