by Hanna Singh
Family members, friends and hospital staff lined the halls of Northern Louisiana Medical Center Sept. 6 to honor the life of Helen Alphelia Davis Payton as she prepared to give one final gift through organ donation.
Payton suffered an unexpected stroke before her death, prompting an honor walk at the hospital as she was taken for the organ donation process.
Honor walks are ceremonies held at hospitals to recognize organ donors and their families. Hospital staff, family members and friends typically line the hallways as a donor is transported from a hospital room to an operating room, providing a final tribute while recognizing the lives that can be impacted through organ and tissue donation.
Payton was both an organ and tissue donor. She donated both kidneys, her pancreas for pancreatic islet research, and skin and tissue that may be used to help burn victims.
The skin donation represented a full-circle moment because Payton was a burn survivor herself.
At age 15, she suffered two serious burn accidents within a matter of weeks. In the first, boiling water was spilled on her from the waist down. Three weeks later, a stove exploded, leaving her with facial burns. Despite the severity of her injuries, she recovered with little visible scarring later in life, leaving her eligible for tissue donation.
Her pancreas was donated for pancreatic islet research related to diabetes, a contribution particularly meaningful to her family because her granddaughter, Kalea Trull, has lived with Type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
For Payton’s family, the donations and honor walk reflected the way she lived her life — caring for and helping others.
A wife, mother, grandmother and longtime friend, Payton devoted much of her life to her family, her faith and serving others. She volunteered at her church, worked in children’s ministry and was remembered during Sunday’s ceremony for consistently encouraging and helping those around her.
“My mom always taught me that no matter how bad life gets, you can focus on the goodness of God and see the good in people through it,” said Rachel Nelson, Payton’s daughter. “When she suffered the loss of her son, she said she could never repay everyone who was there for her, but she could be that for others.
“I believe she’s still meeting the needs of others through organ donation, and as unexpected and hurtful as all of this is, we are trusting that God has a plan and holding onto Him. He has always been faithful and will carry us through.”
That desire to turn difficult experiences into opportunities to help others was something Payton also instilled in her son.
“My mom was the constant encourager and question asker,” Marty Payton said. “She taught me that trials make you stronger, and she taught me to forgive people. She always made others a priority and encouraged me to use trials as an opportunity to help others going through something similar.”
Faith was another constant in Payton’s life and in the advice she offered her family.
“When I would go through hard times, she would say, ‘Hold your head high and keep praying,'” said her granddaughter, LeAnna Taylor.
Her daughter-in-law, Tracy Peyton, recalled a similar message.
“She always encouraged me and taught me to trust God no matter what,” Peyton said. “When going through grief, she told me that there were lots of things worse than death and that God knows best.”
Payton’s influence extended well beyond her immediate family.
Karen Nelson, her best friend for more than 50 years, shared decades of life’s milestones with her.
“The one who shared many heartaches and hard times with me, along with weddings, the births of seven grandkids and 15 great-grandkids, lots of fun trips and family times,” Nelson said. “She was also my right hand at church. She will be greatly missed. Love you, Helen. Goodbye here, but not forever.”
Following the ceremony and honor walk, a donor hero flag was raised at the hospital in Payton’s memory.
For Trull, Payton’s final act of giving carries an especially personal meaning.
“Losing my grandma has been incredibly hard, but knowing that she is helping others even after her passing is such a beautiful gift,” Trull said. “Her donation to pancreatic islet research is especially meaningful to me after living with Type 1 diabetes for 20 years. I feel like God was in every detail of this.”
Family members said one word perhaps described Payton’s life better than any other: giver.
Her favorite Scripture, Psalm 121, reflected the faith that family members said guided her throughout her life: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and Earth.”
Payton gave her time to her church, her love to her family and encouragement to those who needed it.
And through organ and tissue donation, her family said she continued that lifetime of giving by helping people she never had the opportunity to meet.
