15-year-old Keegan Virden of Assumption, Ill., dreamed of playing professional basketball one day with his idol, Steph Curry. He loved talking basketball with his older sister HayLee, a member of the women’s basketball team at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.
“Bub Bub” as he was affectionately called by his younger siblings, also loved fishing and was an active 4H club member.
The morning of July 12, 2022, Keegan was traveling with friends to Central A&M High School in nearby Moweaqua for weight training with the basketball team. Their vehicle collided with an oncoming semi-truck.
Keegan’s mother Joni had just gotten home from dropping Keegan off at his friend’s house, and was preparing her other kids for the day. That’s when she received a phone call from her husband Michael. It was a call she neither wanted to hear nor would ever forget.
“My husband was in Nashville (Tenn.) for work. All I remember hearing was ‘Keegan, accident, highway,’ and nothing else,” Joni recalls. “After that, I just got in my car and took off without really knowing where I was supposed to be going, although I had a feeling I knew where it was.”
Before long, Joni saw the telltale flashing lights of emergency vehicles and uniforms of first responders rushing about the scene. There was no doubt in her mind what—and who—they were there for.
“It happened not far from the house,” Joni says. “I saw the firetrucks, the semi and the car. Then I saw the paramedics and I left my vehicle. I don’t even remember putting it in park. I just remember screaming Keegan’s name and having to be pulled away so the paramedics could work on him until the helicopter got there.”
Keegan was airlifted to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, where doctors immediately went to work to save his life. But his brain had sustained immense trauma and had swelled to the point of cutting off his oxygen supply. Three days later, Keegan took his last breath.
The Virden family was devastated by Keegan’s death. That’s when Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network reached out and offered a way to help his memory live on. For Joni, who was already a registered donor herself, the decision was easy.
“It was a no-brainer,” Joni says. “Keegan was the kind of kid who would have done anything to make someone’s day better. He loved to make people laugh and feel good; he was just a giver like that. We consulted as a family and decided this was what he would have wanted.”
Joni met with Gift of Hope staff Tammy and Sarah about the arrangements for Keegan’s organ donation. She knew right away that she had made the right decision.
“They were extremely nice, compassionate and answered all of our questions,” Joni recalls.
Keegan’s case was special for another reason: “Tammy told us that Keegan was her very first case and that she would never forget us. And we will never forget her.”
Keegan’s organ donation saved the lives of nine people, including an infant who received part of his liver. Another was a woman in Missouri who received Keegan’s heart and hopes to meet the Virden family in person one day.
“We’ve been exchanging emails back and forth and trying to coordinate a time to meet,” Joni says. “She called Keegan her angel. It’s a wonderful feeling to know he is still helping others.”
Joni has never regretted the decision and encourages others to consider organ donation.
“Definitely donate. It is a great feeling to know you’re helping someone. Gift of Hope helped Keegan continue to live on through others and it has been absolutely rewarding.”
That isn’t the only way Keegan continues to give back. In addition to speaking at Gift of Hope programs and events, Joni has created “Keegan’s Presents from Heaven,” an annual toy drive to help kids in the community. She also established an annual three-on-three basketball tournament as a way to honor Keegan’s memory while serving the community. Proceeds benefit scholarships, with $500 being awarded in 2024.
