Mikayla Henry's Gift of Life

5/19 UPDATE: Tomorrow is the day! Join our celebration of Mikayla!

At 5pm we'll have a short ceremony led by the wonderous Barbara Largent, followed by toasts! The floor will be open to anyone who'd like to share.

Then, G Bots and the Journeymen will play funky feel good tunes starting around 6 pm & DeJa grUVe DJ-ing after!

It's free! Please join me & Andy & a bunch of Mikayla's friends in honoring her and all her awesomeness ❤️

Where? The Brown Owl in the Box Factory (550 SW Industrial Way, Ste 120 in Bend)

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5/15 UPDATE: Mikayla's family is planning a Celebration of Life sometime this summer. In the meantime, please join us for a Dance Party in honor of our beloved Mikayla Henry!

It will take place Saturday, May 20th from 5 - 10 pm at the Brown Owl (550 SW Industrial Way #120 in Bend in the Box Factory). Please arrive before 5 pm, but come anytime! Here's the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/934112691238004

Schedule

*5 pm: short ceremony releasing Mikayla to the universe

*5:15 pm: toasts—open floor to anyone who would like to say a lil somethin about our sweet friend

*6 pm: funky feel good tunes live w/ GBOTS & the Journeymen

*8 pm: ass shakin grooves w/ DeJa grUVe

FREE, but please bring tips for the band!

Questions?

Text Diana [phone redacted]

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5/7 UPDATE: Mikayla's honor walk will be today 5/7 at 5 pm. If you would like to honor Mikayla and would find closure by joining, you are most welcome. Please feel free to wear whatever you think would best honor Mikayla... from bright red lipstick to short shorts and anything in between ;)

Here is what it will look like: we will meet at 4:20 pm (the meeting time was originally 4:30 but, hey... it's Mikayla... so 4:20 seems very appropriate) in the Main Lobby of St. Charles Bend beneath the sculpture of life (pictured in this update). To get there, enter the main St. Charles entrance and hang a left, then walk down the hall until you bump into the sculpture that serendipitously looks like Mikayla.

A bit before 5 pm, hospital staff will escort us to the hallway that we will line. At approximately 5 pm (there may be delays), Mikayla will be wheeled from the ICU to the OR. We are welcome to cheer and cry, but we are asked to please not touch her and please take no photos or videos. Please know she will look very different than she did the last time you saw her.

Mikayla will then be wheeled into the OR, accompanied by her family for her passage into the universe and gift of life. At that point, we will go to to On Tap (or somewhere nearby) to be close to Mikayla as she joins the universe. If you have questions, you are welcome to call or text me at [phone redacted]. Much love.

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UPDATE: If you know Mikayla, you know she is a selfless human. She finds joy in giving to others, she is a regular donor of blood and platelets, and she often donates her time and finances to animal rescue. Helping others in need makes her heart happy.

Knowing this, you won't be surprised that Mikayla chose to be an organ donor in the hopes that when she no longer needed her earthly body, she would be able to save others by giving life.

It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we share that that time has come: Mikayla is ready to rest easy.

Throughout this process, her closest loved ones have been by her side - loving on her and intently listening to her cues. Her loving family, of course, respects her wishes and Mikayla will be the most beautiful organ donor - giving life to so many.

Mikayla’s donor team is working around the clock to find matches for her organs and will let us know in the next 24-36 hours when we have to say our goodbyes (for now) to our sweet girl.

We appreciate the outpouring of love and compassion given to the family and Mikayla during these past few weeks. She is so very loved

The donations you have so lovingly made to Mikayla's GoFundMe will be used for the medical bills she has incurred, as well as memorial expenses. If you are so inclined, please consider donating to those needs.

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ORIGINAL POST:

If you know Mikayla, you know she is a vibrant, brilliant, intuitive, independent, diligent, gregarious, ridiculously fun, and incredibly special woman who just turned 29. What you may not know is that Mikayla needs your help - and help from each and every one of us - right now.

On Monday, April 17th, just a few days before she was to leave for a 3-week solo trip to Bali, Mikayla was involved in a moped accident. She suffered a traumatic brain injury that is serious, significant, and continues to unfold.

Her road to recovery will be long. We don't know exactly what Mikayla's life will be like when she recovers, but we do know that she will have significant medical expenses that are accruing rapidly, as well as ongoing living expenses that are accumulating during her ongoing hospital stay and upcoming recovery period.

As Mikayla's friends and family, we hold her so dear and love her more than words. Please, in addition to helping through this fundraiser, keep Mikayla in your mind and heart, visualize her bright shine, and pray for her full recovery.