Four people scattered across the western United States are carrying with them today the most precious of gifts from 3-year-old Kali Geselowitz.
Two people each have one of her kidneys after waiting a combined 2,448 days for an organ donation. A toddler has Kali’s heart and another toddler has her liver. And all are thriving.
The decision to donate Kali’s vital organs after passing away at CHOC at Mission Hospital following a drowning in 2022 was simple, says her mother, Charlene.
“I am so proud of her that she’s thriving strong in four other people,” Charlene says. “It really does bring some consolation. It’s never going to take away the pain, but it softens it.”
Come New Year’s Day, Kali’s most special gift will receive a worldwide spotlight when her likeness and that of 33 other organ donors grace the 2024 Rose Parade on a float organized by One Legacy, a nonprofit organ donation advocacy group based in Southern California that works closely with CHOC.
Kali is the youngest donor to be featured on the float.
“I feel so grateful,” Charlene says. “It’s a real honor that Kali will be recognized for giving the gift of life. The smallest of the small can save up to eight people. Kali won’t be forgotten. She’ll be recognized by millions of people.”
Wishing for more time
While small for her age, Kali had a big sense of generosity. She was quick to share toys, drinks and especially her favorite blue raspberry-flavored lollipops. Sweet and bubbly in disposition, Kali enjoyed swimming lessons, gymnastics, ballet and keeping up with her two older siblings in South Orange County.
But life for the Geselowitz family changed forever at a pool party in June 2022. While Charlene’s back was turned for just seconds while packing up, Kali disappeared and was soon found lifeless in a hot tub, somehow missing the life vest she’d been wearing all afternoon.
Paramedics rushed Kali to CHOC at Mission Hospital. She had been unconscious and without a heartbeat for 45 minutes when the care team finally found a pulse, Charlene says. For the next days, Kali remained on life support and the family held vigil inside the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
After much waiting and testing, it became clear that Kali would not survive the accident. Conversations about organ donation began.
“We knew what we wanted to do. We wanted to help others,” Charlene says. “I wanted so much to have more time with Kali, but then I thought, If Kali’s not here, how can we help others? Helping others meant giving others more time, more time with their loved ones.”
Rebirth through organ, tissue donation
Like so many other Southern California natives, Charlene and husband Gavin grew up watching the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day morning. This year, they and their two children will watch in person, bundled up along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, waiting for Kali to pass by.
The float is called “Woven Together: The Dance of Life” and showcases the culture of the Hopi tribe, native to the American Southwest. It features the tribe’s Butterfly Dancer as an acknowledgement of the rebirth provided by organ and tissue donation.
Kali’s likeness and those of other donors will be depicted on memorial floragraphs woven into the patterns of baskets positioned throughout the float. These images, according to One Legacy, represent those who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation.
Made of natural materials like seeds, coffee grinds and rice grains, the floragraphs are intricate and finely detailed, in Kali’s case going so far as to show the sweetest little dimple that dotted her right cheek and artfully capturing her big, brown eyes.
Earlier this month, the floragraph was showcased at CHOC at Mission Hospital following a small ceremony where the Geselowitz family was reunited with the team who provided such expert, compassionate care during Kali’s hospitalization.
“We are honored and privileged that you call CHOC Mission part of your family story now,” Bronwyn Stackleather, director of patient care services, told the Geselowitz family. “All of us at CHOC at Mission Hospital are beyond grateful to be part of the story that you tell about Kali and the four lives that she saved in her three little years here. There’s not many people who can say they’ve done that.”
As part of the ceremony, staff wrote small notes to Kali attached to roses that will become part of the float.
“To Kali: A true child hero, helping so many others,” wrote Dr. Gary Goodman, who as medical director of CHOC Mission’s PICU, cared for Kali during her hospitalization.
“Kali, thank you for inspiring us with your love and light. Your joy will always live on,” bears another message.
A third on behalf of CHOC Mission’s PICU nurses: “Love you, sweet Kali.”
Turning pain into purpose
For Charlene, honoring Kali’s legacy also means turning pain into purpose. She recently became an ambassador for One Legacy, committing herself to advocating for organ and tissue donation.
That way, more people can have more time. And more light.
“Kali was such a bright light and her light shines in four other people,” Charlene says.
