Meghan Nelson's Memorial

This is Meghan.

A 23-year-old ray of sunshine whose passion in life was to help others. Meghan was pursuing her Bachelors in Social Work at Western Kentucky University, where she was set to graduate on May 5th, 2022. Meghan had such a drive and dedication to change the lives of everyone around her. On Monday, April 25th, Meghan collapsed at her internship. She was in cardiac arrest and was put on a ventilator, and brought to the Medical Center in Bowling Green. Meghan had no previous health conditions, so we couldn’t even begin to wonder what the cause of this sudden collapse was. Once stable and admitted, they began to run more tests. They discovered Meghan’s heart was weak and placed a device in hopes that it would help her heart recover from whatever caused this sudden arrest.

After the device was placed, her heart function was even worse. She was transferred to UK hospital in Lexington, KY. The following day, she was sent down to have the device removed from her heart due to a clot and placed on ECMO. During the procedure, things took a turn for the worst. Meghan was rushed for emergency surgery, where they had to open her chest to stop a significant bleed. Once they miraculously stabilized her, they started monitoring her for signs of brain damage and signs of cognitive function.

Around 10:30 pm on April 26th, Meghan’s pupils showed signs of brain damage. A CT confirmed that she did indeed have an anoxic brain injury that she would never recover from.

On April 27th, they began the process to verify brain death and confirmed that Meghan had passed on.

Meghan’s wishes were to be an organ donor, and we are fulfilling those wishes. She will be blessing the lives of many different patients and families as almost all of her organs are viable.

To know Meghan was to love her. She was such a kind and gentle soul who touched the lives of everyone around her. She will be deeply missed, and our lives will never be the same. We were blessed with 23 years together, but she was taken from us way too soon.

Our family is asking for donations to help with the sudden upcoming expenses. We are staying in Lexington with her until her gifts are donated and the transplant surgeries are completed. We will be having a memorial since she chose to be cremated. She had so much love to give, and even in death, she continues to bless the lives of those in need.

We appreciate all the support and donations to help us during this challenging time. Thank you.

We are asking for donations in lue of flowers for Meghan's memorial and to help the Nelson family with expenses. Any unused donations will be donated to UK Pediatric and Children's Hospital in Meghan's honor.

THE DATE OF THE SERVICE IS TO BE DETERMINED.