Danny Couey didn’t blow his second chance at life.
In 1997, Mr. Couey was a 14-year-old boy recovering from a heart transplant. He promised his parents he would live the rest of his life to the fullest, and he did.
“He got every ounce out of life that he could,” said his father, Kerry Couey, who lives in Lawrenceville.
For seven years, Danny Couey ran, jumped and played as much as he could, said his mother, Rose Couey.
“He was just so happy to be able to do it,” she said. “He played every sport he could. He wasn’t the best at every sport, but it was that he could play them that excited him.”
Danny Couey graduated from Berkmar High School in 2001. He even started studying computer science at Gwinnett Technical College, Mrs. Couey said. But all of that came to a screeching halt in 2004, when he passed out while playing basketball with friends.
“When he fell, he broke his jaw in two places and knocked out a few teeth,” his mother said. “We didn’t even think that it could be his heart again, but it was.”
The diagnosis came back, coronary artery disease, she said. Danny Couey went back on the transplant list, and seven years later, the call came.
On Oct. 23, the Coueys raced back to Atlanta from a mini-vacation in South Carolina because there was a heart that was a perfect match for Danny. On the way to Atlanta, Danny called friends and started making plans for a trip to Alaska, one of his favorite places to visit. At the hospital, the Coueys’ spirits were high. They’d all been through this before, and all indications signaled a successful transplant. But two days after the surgery, on Oct. 26, Daniel Kerry Couey, of Lawrenceville, called Danny by all who knew him, died at Emory University Hospital. He was 29, having just celebrated his birthday on Oct. 5.
“The heart was perfect,” his mother said. “But I think the rest of Danny’s organs were really tired.”
To celebrate Danny Couey’s life, his family is planning a party at Rock Springs Farm, in Buford. Tributes will begin around 4:30 p.m., and after the sun goes down, the family invites friends to sit around a campfire and share their favorite stories about Danny Couey. His body was cremated and his ashes will be spread in Alaska, along with those of his sister Mary Couey who died in 2009. Tom M. Wages’ Lawrenceville Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Couey’s life was a constant source of encouragement for his older sister, Julie Couey. After the death of Mary, the middle child, who was killed when her car was hit by a drunk driver, Danny started talking to his older sister about her second chance in life.
“If it hadn’t been for Danny, I wouldn't have gone back to school,” said his sister, who lives in Lawrenceville. “He taught me I could have my second chance.”
And even after his death, Danny Couey’s “second chance” message lives on, his mother said. Danny Couey was an organ donor, but because of the numerous drugs he took for his heart, he was only able to donate his eyes upon his death.
Rose Couey said the gift of life that donors and their families offer is the “most amazing thing people can do in the midst of their grief.”
“His attitude was, ‘You can’t take it with you,’” his mother said. “And he thought if somebody else could use his organs or whatever, they should have that chance. I’m so proud he made that choice.”
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