Retired Bradenton teacher’s vision restored after ‘life-changing’ donation transplant

Meetings between donor families and those who receive organ or tissue transplants are rare, but when families meet, it can be a very emotional experience.

As it was when Art Durshimer and his wife, Meg, met the family of Derbin Huertas, 15, who died in June of complications from diabetes.

As a result of that tragedy, Durshimer received a cornea transplant from Derbin which restored his sight. The transplant happened a week after Derbin’s death.

Recently, Durshimer, 66, and his wife, Meg, met with several members of the Huertas family — Derbin’s parents, Ana and Derbin Huertas Sr., his brother, Marcos, and an uncle and an aunt — at the Lions World Vision Institute in Ybor City.

“The mother thanked me for taking her son’s cornea,” said Durshimer, who retired after an 18-year teaching career at Bayshore and Palmetto high schools.

“It was stunning. She stood up, hugged me and looked into my left eye as if trying to see her son,” Durshimer said, his voice filled with emotion. “I am profoundly grateful to this family.”

Bradenton man grateful after cornea transplant

Derbin’s older sister, Sam, a nurse in Seattle, has witnessed the life-changing impact of cornea, tissue and organ donations.

It was Sam who convinced her parents to move forward with the donation authorization.

“I read my Bible and I prayed. It was, like, Lord what am I supposed to do?” Ana Huertas said.

“My son was the greatest person in the whole world. He was very kind and the perfect child,” she said.

By being a donor family, Ana Huertas reasoned that they could help improve the quality of life for other families.

“We do want to meet the recipient families. Each one becomes part of our family,” she said.

A ‘life-changing’ donation

Durshimer needed a cornea transplant after infections in his left eye eventually turned into keratoconus, a disease that changes the shape of the cornea, making it extremely hard to see beyond a blur.

He did not see well in his other eye either due to a congenital retinal issue.

“I was trapped at home, unable to drive, read or write. I can see better and better as the cornea adapts to my eye,” he said. “Many times transplants are life-saving. Mine was life-changing. It’s given me back my life.”

Durshimer wanted to share his story out of gratitude to the Huertas family and to encourage others to consider becoming organ or tissue donors.

“I am profoundly grateful to this family. The mother and father are both U.S. Army veterans. They are hard-working, good people,” Durshimer said. “God bless them.

Meg Durshimer said that she knew organ and tissue donations are important, but her husband’s loss of sight “hammered it home after it became personal.”

Ana Derbin wrote a letter to Art Durshimer as part of her mission to meet everyone who was touched by her son’s cornea and tissue donation.

“It was the most beautiful letter I have read in my life. We don’t have words to say how grateful we are,” Meg Durshimer said.

As for Art Durshimer, he says that he and Meg will stay in touch with the Huertas family.

“We owe them so much,” he said.

Art Durshimer notes that his father died of colon cancer and was an organ donor.

“The only parts they were able to use were his corneas,” he said.

Those corneas went to research, a critical component of donations, helping to develop innovations in corneal transplantation.

How to become a donor

Florida has a relatively low donor registration rate, despite having a high total number of donors due to its large population.

In the U.S., while approximately 90% of adults say they support organ donation, only about 60% are registered, according to organdonor.gov.

Florida’s donor registration rate is 39%, according to Donate Life Florida.

For information on how to register as a donor, visit https://www.donatelifeflorida.org/register/.