Hello and welcome to the gifted like podcast where we have conversations about Oregon tissue and I donation I'm Lori Steele I'm Sally Juncary and I'm the real Joey Boudreau. Hey Joey's back. Good to see you. We have been searching where?
I've had the flu another virus another virus and I'm finally getting over it. I have a little bit of the cough So anyway, but I'm still I'm much better. Listen you're lucky you came back because Kirsten I'm a seat here. Yeah, she's doing the accent in there.
There's some two step in some cage in terms. Right and we're believing his story though That's what we're going with He's selling it pretty heavy While you're out Joe Sally I made some executive decisions and on this episode we're gonna change things up a little right Yeah, I'm fine. Yeah, I'm gonna enter it. It's gonna be awesome.
Of course We're gonna want everybody's feedback to see how this flows But look you can still find us out there easy you certainly can you can find us on Apple podcast Google Play or whatever your favorite podcast Maybe yeah, I what we talk about you can find on our social media sites on Facebook donate life Louisiana Twitter Instagram at donate life LA and hey, hey Hey, that line is I 04 648 3 4 7 7 and I do want to throw in at this point Somebody did call me that I had talked with this donor's mother back in 2002 when he was a donor I have not heard from this lady in all these years and she said I was listening to the podcast And that's why I wanted to call and just say hello and let you know that I'm still doing okay That's pretty cool. Well, you are a voice of comfort for so many over all these years amazing. It's a nice. I just say thank you I like that and we like the connection being made so call our hotline drop us a line We may use that audio here on the gift at life.
Let's get started Okay, so Joey told you we made some decisions. We had a little fun I changed it up a little bit so our producer on the gift of life shall on care away. We sent her on a little trip I'll say yeah, that's right. Yeah, she's on location to make it sound a fish all right She enjoyed herself came back with some great insights.
I have a motion on this trip. Yeah, yeah, you don't know where we send her to you know You're all the suit. Absolutely. I can't wait to hear it.
Let's do it now Every boy has heroes growing up people who inspire them to go after their dreams and to be the best person they can be For seven-year-old James Mountain, Jr. Those heroes included his dad and NASCAR bakers But no one could have predicted how little James would first meet one of those heroes through a heart belt video that was sent to him Hello, Milton family Joey geese here. I just want to let you know. Oh, sorry I am the here about James passing I hope knowing that he was an organ-eye-to-shoot donor and was able to help saving through the lives of so many is giving your family some comfort I know it did for my family and I knowing how many lives my mom was able to help I also hear that you guys are huge NASCAR fans.
So one day I hope to see you all at the track and especially you James jr This is where the story of our journey with this family and Joey geese began in April Joey would be at the Texas motor speedway in Fort Worth, Texas for an XFINITY series race I was set to travel and cover the race and also be with the melton family along with two other of my colleagues I was completely out of my element lopa and the gifted life podcast sponsored a portion of joey's number 52 car The melton family would get to see their heroes picture one of james senior holding his sweet son james jr Right on the bumper of joey's car Now those of us that work at opos or organ procurement organizations like lopa know how to take care of families that have just lost a loved one We work hard serving these families every day NASCAR well We were driving into a foreign land the extent of my nascar knowledge was minimal I'd only seen a few wrecks on tv when my husband would call me into the room to replay them or Just watch the last few laps of a race So before I left I wanted to know as much as I could about joey and nascar so I would be able to capture as much as possible for the podcast I searched for a glossary of nascar terms and I read articles about texas motor speedway No glossary of nascar terms could ever prepare me for what we were about to explore First before I tell you about our trip, let me tell you about joey geese You can google him and find tons of information about his racing career and his passion to educate and register more organized issue donors But here's a quick synopsis gace started racing at hawkeye down speedway and the tracks junior classes in 2001 He won the track modified b championship at lacrosse fairground speedway in 2007 and was the youngest driver to do so In 2009 he became the youngest driver to win the tracks late model championship at hawkeye down speedway and he graduated from high school in 2011 Gace is now 24 years old and races in both the xfinity series and the club series for nascar He is also dedicated to sharing information about registering as an organ-ion tissue donor and here's why In april of 2011 joey's mother mary joe passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm She became a donor and helped 66 people with her gifts of life We caught up with joey by phone last week to talk to him about his mother and his drive for donate life's mission to register donors Hey joey at chalon. How are you? Good. How about yourself doing fine doing fine?
We're we're kind of reliving our time in texas So I want to kind of go back to the beginning whenever you started racing. How did you get started racing? I said racing go karts when I was 8 years old and nudge and the reason I wanted to get into it was because my dad raced before Before I did but I down speedway and i was always loved it and it was something I always wanted to do And so you raced in cedar rapids and you did go karts up to dirt track and really started making um some headway From what I read you were the youngest driver to win the track modified beat championship at lacrosse fairgrounds speedway in 2007 So at what point did you transition from this to I want to be asked car? Yeah, nascar was always in my mind of what I wanted to do and uh, it's funny that you said dirt track that I raced dirt Especially on the dirt capital of the world but uh, hockey down was the only half track and I was that I wasn't wasn't Wasn't what I did and uh, like you said, I went up out with dean how the youngest ever the wind uh To do that and uh, when it's when everything kind of really started the I'm with the development team at a So had a uh, truck series team and then just kept Proving myself and bouncing one thing from another and then uh, I was 18 I got my my first been uh nationwide series start which is now xfinity at i was speedway and I've been in the series Ever since been full time since uh since 2014 and been able to make including this year and been able to make my first day Tony founders start this year as well So while we surely keep on moving up you mentioned your mom joey and this is really what we do is we cover Organizing tissue donation on our podcast and your mom mary joc, can you tell us her story, please?
Yeah, my mom she passed away unfortunately of a son of brand aneurysm and april 2011 and when that half do you like to be an Organizing tissue donor and we didn't have her driver's license without that time because we were international and uh, her driver's license was Was before but i'm always she was really short and really tiny and there's actually no way you have to meet to be a Donor and she she wanted to do that. She'd want to be a organ donor as well. Well, we said yes And she's able to do eyes of a 66 plus um, we thought maybe it was gonna be you know Two or three people we we had no idea how the amount of people it could really amount to and that we know how proud she would be Confortunate enough to meet two of her recipients so far for a kidney recipient and her her liver And to see how oh thankful they were but not only then their entire family likely would not be here today That's remarkable and so when you say she helps 66 people that includes tissue and was she a cornea donor as well? Yeah, she was an orgy shoe donor and that was one thing too my mom She had really bad eyesight and and I have really bad eyesight.
They're like well And we're going through the process really like we'd be happy to but I don't think anyone would want her eyes anyway And of course they told us well someone that's completely blind. We'll take anything and they have to wear glasses um, they They don't think that'll be a big issue. That's for sure. So we really had no idea how big an impact make where you were registered donor prior to this I was but I didn't even know about it and that's part of the reason why I'm doing all I came to help raise awareness for We're gonna nation um of course a lot of people sign up when they go get their their driver's license And I was I just turned 18 that time and I had to actually physically take out my wallet and take out my driver's license And see if I was a registered donor and and I was but I just I didn't even remember if I was or not because I feel like unfortunately when they a lot of people Go get their driver's license or frustrated because maybe they had a wait in line for a long time and they just want to get it in and out Because I can so it's something that a lot of people don't talk about and Off her situation my mom when we went she did already say yes on that So I don't want people to only just go say yes I want people to actually also sit down with their loved ones and donation and what it just would be So decision already being made and they would know 100% would want and we couldn't agree more That's one of the things that we encourage so much is that people have that conversation not only register But have that conversation know what your loved ones would want so that whenever the time comes It's not a question and you can fulfill those wishes So at what point joey after your mom passed did you make the connection with donate life?
I mean really and since then you have really become such a staunch supporter and advocate for donate life throughout the country We see you engaging with organ procurement organizations everywhere you go At what point did you connect with a donate life brand? It all started with the i would donor network in in 2012 about a year after my mom's passing I realized this is something I really wanted to help promote and at the same time about xvenides series race at i was speedway that year And I reached out to from what I wanted to do and they said unfortunately we can't help you with that But we can put you in connection with someone that we think can and they put me in touch with i would don't Know network and and that's what my idea and they were they were all for it I started that back me underneath there and Poison contact with the right people and one thing led to another and they continue to grow And absolutely do I see now that i'm an official joey days nascar fan I feel like I didn't realize how far and wide You have the opportunity to reach people. You are really reaching millions of people at every race where you promote donate life So kudos to you for taking on this task and reaching people That have maybe never heard of the donate life message and what an amazing opportunity to have your mom's name Out there and tell her story. It's amazing to hear how many people my mom has made an impact and I mean obviously through Actually being an organ donor, but not only that just here has changed a lot of people's view On organ donation or made people think about it.
We've been able to get stories on esp and and NBC and it's just that it's just amazing Been able to do this. It's really cool, but not only hurt many other donors out there As you know, we we honor an invigor and invite their family to come to the racetrack and On the car they they stop and look at it because it's pretty rare over race car And when they see that they they want to know why why's that on there and they stop and ask and they they look up the donate life Website and we get to tell them why it's so important opening up that discussion is what you're all about So we don't want to take up too much of your time. I know you need to probably get ready for Dover I'd like to take the personally the opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart I know that you made such an impact on the melton family that weekend. It changed me not only to a NASCAR fan But it really opened up a whole nether avenue for this family to grow and heal So we from lopa and everybody at our podcast.
We thank you so much. Joey. You're really making a big difference out there We appreciate you. Well, no problem.
I'm more than happy to do it and I appreciate you guys's time and teaming up with me as well There is no way to convey the sincerity in joey's eyes when he's faced to face with you telling you about his mother his family and his passion He is honest welcoming and inclusive willing to answer my many questions that I'm a spotters. They're telling us what's going on on the track and all that kind of stuff And then also talk to the rest of the crew down He has a job to do but he never loses focus on what he deems important He seeks out the melton family throughout the day making sure that they are having a good time And are taking in all the sights and sounds while not missing out on any important events Today was a whirlwind and started early with the family. We had brought along a special bear for james jr It was a bill to bear with a recording of his dad james seniors James jr. Harry that bear with his daddy's heartbeat all day We gathered together the group and trekked inside the massive racetrack that is texas motor speedway The melton's luckily knew where to go and what to see they taught us so very much about what was going on in the garages As we navigated into this new environment.
The family was remarkable We all stopped when we saw james car with james seniors picture You could feel the pride pouring from this family and his young son at his daddy's heartbeat right there with him Then we found joey in a sea of drivers cars and crews He told us all about the layout of the track and talked about what it was like to be a driver And told us some of the safety gear that's required when he drives Our seats are literally built around us. We have more seat belts and we have a hans device now That sits on your shoulders your seat belts go over that the hans connects to your helmet and limits your head for going so far So if you have a hard impact like that, it's supposed to stop you from hitting your head on your steering wheel or anything like that You have a headrest that guy was all the way around you now the wall is like if you watch it on tv and slow motion We have something called safe for barriers. So there's a cement wall there's a safer barrier And when you hit the wall it actually absorbs a lot of energy joey gave us a tour of his car hauler and showed everyone his donate life racing suit extra car and engines He brought me to pit road for race qualifying and joey even took james jr and his grandfather with him To the drivers meeting where they could meet all the other drivers that were racing that day If you've never been to a nastcar race, it's louder than you can imagine Hence the reason why I don't have a lot of audio from that day It's more exciting and thrilling than I ever dreamed The rumbling of the engines shake you to the core and those cars go by faster than your heart can race The excitement of it all is absolutely the most exhilarating thing i've ever experienced We got to walk right onto the actual race track and james jr wrote his name on the starting line The family took photos and we stood on the track as joey was announced right before the race joey then scooped up james jr and his bear for a ceremonial lap around the track You could really feel the excitement we stood with joey by his car and said the pledge of allegiance and cheered him into his car Then we all walked to joey's pit from the beginning of the race At the time the drivers were roaring into their fifth lap our beautiful donor family was saying their goodbyes to us This dear family had a full day honoring their hero and I truly believe it's a day that they will reflect on with awe and pride forever Their hero james senior was on a national stage for all the world to see He was always a hero to them and because of one very special nascar driver joey gase Their hero was seen on the Saving lives through organ-ion tissue donation is a gift. It is a gift to those whose lives are saved It is a gift to the families of those heroes whose legacy of life continues on It is a gift to everyone that hears their stories It is a gift to those of us who get to tell those stories It is a gift to be inspired Our lory says do something you would normally do to help make life happen This experience was something I would not normally do to help make life happen And now even more than before because of this experience with the melton family and joey gase I couldn't be more proud to do this important work be a small part of the gifted life podcast and be a nascar fan Of course, yalanda did a great job talking about james melton senior and his family So at this point in the podcast we'd like to share more about james and his story From his family's perspective and this story comes from his family james is the youngest of six kids three boys three girls He loved racing and spending time with the son doing the things they enjoyed which included racing honey parati basketball and Racing we blame our dad for all that racing and the older brothers since their fault james was your typical little brother that drove you crazy But we can't bear to be without he would do anything and everything to help his friends and family and he would do anything and everything to To make them laugh make them feel a little bit better or make things a little easier He'd tell the corniest of jokes to get his older kids back for all the razzing we do to him because he was the youngest and mom and dad let him get away with Everything they were the worst jokes, but man they were funny He had the most beautiful blue eyes that would sparkle with mischief and the biggest brightest smile usually got bigger when he told those corny jokes Even in james's last days he had something for others by being an organ donor knowing that his life has saved others provide some comfort Maybe he was able to save someone else's brothers life to give their family a little bit more time together on this earth It's something my family and I would give anything to have you can read more about james on our heroes page located at lopa.com And let's pause say thank you james for the gift of life That was amazing good job shalon shalon's out producer sent her out on location.
She brought us the story like a fieldy emotion She took me there. Ah that was amazing. It was such an amazing story. She did a great job And I want to know you know, so i'm out for like one episode and you guys send other people to do James here on the Dallas And we used your money Great, it was great.
It was great. It's always so special is to have someone like joey gay someone who's known, you know in nascar Give back of course his mom being a donor and him able to meet up with recipients and to see what he's done through the past Year's especially with the i would don't on network, you know our partners there in Iowa But also with james jr and the family there it was just a fantastic, you know way to give back to the community And what a great way to get this message out to Thousands of individuals who may otherwise never even thought about it and just for joey Yeah, having the opportunity to recognize what his mom did to help others through the gift of life And then for the opportunity of james's family to be able to go and see him recognized by joey Must have just been an awesome experience and I can only imagine how much that really really meant them Yeah, not just to the melton family But we know of other families that either the hero will be placed on the car or they're gonna invite to go out and meet him and experience that And that is incredible one person making a difference guys. I love that We hope you enjoyed this special segment. We want to hear from you info at lopa.org We hope you enjoyed it and we hope that you choose to follow his lead go out and do something today That you don't normally do to help us make life happen.
You can do it This is a production of the louisiana organ procurement agency or lopa The gifted life is hosted by lory steel, deli budo and sally gentry our producers are kiersten hines and shalon caraway We are recorded engineered and mixed in our metery louisiana studio by choy perez