The Friedman Files

Before heading out of town for a few days last week, I worked on a story that really hit me and apparently struck a chord with some of our viewers as well.

We profiled 5 year old Galen Horacek, who got a liver transplant a few weeks ago.  It turns out his donor was 18 month old Catherine Stocco, who tragically drowned along with her three year old brother, Marcus, in the family’s pool in Coppell. 

Both families, donor and recipient, were incredibly thoughtful in what they said about each other and about organ donation.  The Horacek family described praying for the Stocco family while at the same time, they waited, hoping that doctors could save their own son who had been just hours from death.  Meanwhile, the Stocco family talked selflessly about the decision they made while facing a situation that’s hard to fathom.  I thought I’d share the complete statement from the Stocco family, since we only had time for a portion of it in our story:

“The loss of children is the most painful tragedy a family could have to endure. But once we knew that our angels couldn’t be saved, the decision to donate their organs was easy. We held in our hands the opportunity to save another family from the sadness we feel, a sadness we would spare anyone if we could. Choosing not to donate their organs would not have brought our babies back or made us feel better, but it would destroy another family. It makes no sense to compound the grief. As we mourn our children, we take comfort in knowing that their gift of donated organs will live on in the hopes and dreams of another family.

-Vanny and Matt Stocco

One viewer wrote to me this week saying,  “If more people were as generous as the family of Catherine Stocco, there wouldn’t be such a large shortage of human organs for transplant operations.”  Something for all of us to think about. 

The question above was one I got from some of my co-workers, as we reported the shortage of digital TV converter boxes at stores in North Texas.  You’ll need a converter by next year if you have an older analog TV.  Those analog signals disappear in Feb. 2009, when the government’s plan to convert to digital takes effect.

The answer to the question, who’s using rabbit ears: me and a lot of other people in Texas.  I have cable at my house, but I still have one old TV — in a room with no cable outlet.  The old school antenna is the only option there at the moment.

According to the latest numbers from the Feds, more people have requested government discount coupons for digital converter boxes in Texas than in any other state,  That’s because Texas actually has a higher percentage of people who still watch TV over-the-air instead of on satellite and cable. 

Apparently big retailers didn’t realize there were so many “rabbit-ear” people in Texas either.  Even retail giant Wal-Mart, known for its slick supply chain, admits its having trouble keeping converter boxes on the shelves.