Heart Transplant Inspires Restaurateur to Sponsor Donate Life Float in 2012 Rose Parade

Link: http://www.saltcreekgrille.com

The Truxaw family and friends prepare for the Rose Parade. The floragraph depicts donor Tommy Weiss.

Pete Truxaw, co-owner of Salt Creek Grille, l celebrated the nearly 15 years of life his nephew Chris has been able to enjoy on January 2 thanks to a life-saving heart transplant he received when he was 13. Today, Chris is a Stanford graduate and successful business owner.

Truxaw and partner, Tim McCune, have become passionate about educating the public about organ donation and make a special effort to savor all of Chris' milestones and accomplishments.

Salt Creek Grille is a proud sponsor of the Donate Life float that was showcased during the Rose Parade on Jan. 2. The float was etched with a floral portrait of Tommy Weiss, the boy who saved Chris' life. When he was 10 years old, Weiss was in a car accident that left him in a coma. He later died in the hospital. Weiss' family donated his organs and Chris received a new heart.

"We're celebrating the incredible 15 years of life my nephew Christopher has been able to enjoy thanks to a life-saving heart transplant when he was only 13," Truxaw said. "Through donation, Chris' donor Tommy Weiss did what no doctor could do.  He saved Chris' life.  We consider Tommy, his mom, and all donors to be heroes.  The float is a reminder of Tommy's gift of life."

The Rose Parade is just the beginning of another year of donor awareness Salt Creek Grille will embark upon. Each spring, Truxaw and McCune host Donate Life Days at their three California-based restaurants Dana Point, Valencia and El Segundo - and two New Jersey restaurants - Princeton and Rumson, and their new Mama's on 39 restaurant in Huntington Beach to kick off the statewide donor drive campaign.  The events feature volunteers and staff from non-profit organ and tissue recovery agencies that answer questions and help interested people sign up to be donors - a process that takes only minutes and can mean a lifetime to someone else.

The need for donors is certainly there, as more than 100,000 Americans are waiting for organ transplants. Eighteen of them die every day waiting for a transplant that never comes.

"My family and I are grateful every single day for the heart transplant that Chris received and want to do as much as possible to raise awareness and funding for the cause," Truxaw said.

For more information about Salt Creek Grille, visit www.saltcreekgrille.com. To sign up to be a donor, visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.