Tara Stroup says her daughter Maddy was a bright light gone too soon.
The 23-year-old touched many lives. Stroup says her thoughtful and caring nature led her to become a mental health worker.
“She also did have depression at some times in her life and so I think wanting to help others that suffer with the same things that she had was inspirational to her,” Tara said.
Maddy Stroup and her 22-year-old boyfriend, Hayden Turcotte, were travelling with another friend to the family cabin when the fatal collision happened in Abbotsford on July 26.
Turcotte died at the scene while Maddy died in hospital 10 days later.
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The driver of the other car, a 70-year-old man, survived. The crash is still under investigation.
In her final days, the Stroups chose to donate her organs, but Maddy had already made that decision when she was alive.
“When we talked to the doctors, she’d already filled out the form,” said father Dean Stroup, a prominent Burnaby firefighter.
The Stroups are finding comfort in the fact that their daughter has given a gift to five other B.C. families by donating her liver, kidneys, islet cells and heart.
Tara says they want to meet the recipients.
“We hope that they will respond back to us because I would love to meet all of them,” she said, “but the person who has her heart is a very, very lucky person.”
Maddy’s parents are now encouraging others to register as donors.
“If there’s others that we can help, then it’s going to make us feel better and give this horrible, horrific incident at least a bit of purpose,” Stroup said.
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