MONROE - Amber Moyer made the decision to be an organ donor when she got her first driver's license at age 16.
"The day she was born, everyone knew she was a special one," said her father, Paul Moyer, of Monroe. "Even when she was little, she made everyone laugh."
"She was everybody's light," he added.
Amber was killed in a traffic accident April 18. But even in her passing, the 19-year-old Monroe woman is still bringing light to others: Both of Amber's corneas were transplanted, restoring the eyesight of two people.
The cornea is the clear front portion of the eye that acts as a window to allow light to enter the eye.
Amber's parents, Paul and Regina, learned of the transplant in May, about a week before Amber's 20th birthday, in a letter from Elizabeth Koenig, executive director of the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin.
"We knew she was an organ donor; she didn't think twice about it," Moyer said of his daughter's decision.
The letter, he said, was "a nice surprise."
Earlier in her life, Amber had been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic neurological disorder that affects cell growth in nerve tissue. Among its numerous debilitations, NF can also cause hearing and vision loss. As a result, "she went through extensive eye and hearing tests each year," Moyer said. Still, Amber's neurological disorder did not hinder her activities or her enthusiasm, according to her father. And it didn't prevent her from being a donor after she passed.
"She never liked to slow down," he said. "She rode motorcycles with me and liked to go fishing - she was just go, go, go."
Amber died just a day before she was to begin a job as a tour guide at the Minhas Craft Brewery, and she had plans to go to a cosmetology school.
Moyer, who still visits his daughter's grave each day, said the donation of Amber's corneas helps to keep her spirit alive.
"We knew she would still be here, and that she'd be looking at us," he said.
According to Koenig's letter, tissue from Amber's body is also being used in research studies.
"Eye donation also contributes to the restoration of sight by providing a better understanding of ocular diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinistis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and other conditions that cause blindness," Koenig wrote to the Moyer family.
Moyer does not know of any other organs from Amber being used, but he said organizations often wait until a transplant has been successful before notifying the donor's family.
"I imagine we would get another letter. I would definitely like to be notified if other organs are used," he said.
"The day she was born, everyone knew she was a special one," said her father, Paul Moyer, of Monroe. "Even when she was little, she made everyone laugh."
"She was everybody's light," he added.
Amber was killed in a traffic accident April 18. But even in her passing, the 19-year-old Monroe woman is still bringing light to others: Both of Amber's corneas were transplanted, restoring the eyesight of two people.
The cornea is the clear front portion of the eye that acts as a window to allow light to enter the eye.
Amber's parents, Paul and Regina, learned of the transplant in May, about a week before Amber's 20th birthday, in a letter from Elizabeth Koenig, executive director of the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin.
"We knew she was an organ donor; she didn't think twice about it," Moyer said of his daughter's decision.
The letter, he said, was "a nice surprise."
Earlier in her life, Amber had been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic neurological disorder that affects cell growth in nerve tissue. Among its numerous debilitations, NF can also cause hearing and vision loss. As a result, "she went through extensive eye and hearing tests each year," Moyer said. Still, Amber's neurological disorder did not hinder her activities or her enthusiasm, according to her father. And it didn't prevent her from being a donor after she passed.
"She never liked to slow down," he said. "She rode motorcycles with me and liked to go fishing - she was just go, go, go."
Amber died just a day before she was to begin a job as a tour guide at the Minhas Craft Brewery, and she had plans to go to a cosmetology school.
Moyer, who still visits his daughter's grave each day, said the donation of Amber's corneas helps to keep her spirit alive.
"We knew she would still be here, and that she'd be looking at us," he said.
According to Koenig's letter, tissue from Amber's body is also being used in research studies.
"Eye donation also contributes to the restoration of sight by providing a better understanding of ocular diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinistis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and other conditions that cause blindness," Koenig wrote to the Moyer family.
Moyer does not know of any other organs from Amber being used, but he said organizations often wait until a transplant has been successful before notifying the donor's family.
"I imagine we would get another letter. I would definitely like to be notified if other organs are used," he said.