This Thing Called Life

EP 130: “The Ripple Effect: Maggie Luken’s Journey of Loss, Love, and Life”

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Title:  “The Ripple Effect: Maggie Luken’s Journey of Loss, Love, and Life”

 

🎙️ Episode Summary

In this deeply moving episode of This Thing Called Life, host Andi Johnson welcomes Maggie Luken, whose story reminds us that even in profound loss, love can create ripples of life.

When tragedy struck, Maggie Luken chose compassion. In this moving interview, she reflects on a year marked by major back surgery, the loss of two brothers, and the life-giving decision that followed. Inspired by her brother Brendon’s organ donation, Maggie became a living donor herself. Now an Ambassador for donation, Maggie's story is a testament to resilience, purpose, and how one act of kindness can create ripples of life.

 

✨ Episode Highlights

  • Andi Johnson welcomes Maggie Luken, setting the stage for a story of resilience and hope.

  • Maggie opens up about her lifelong battle with back issues due to a genetic defect — a condition that began affecting her as early as age 12.

  • Over time, severe back pain led her to use a wheelchair and undergo extensive physical therapy.

  • After having two children, Maggie’s condition worsened, leaving her unable to stand for more than five minutes and suffering intense nerve pain.

  • She describes her bilateral spinal fusion and discectomy — a major surgery that replaced damaged discs with metal rods and screws. Maggie recalls the painful recovery but also the immediate relief she felt when the nerve pain vanished.

  • Now, 2.5 years post-surgery, Maggie shares her gratitude for a full recovery and no longer needing medical visits for her back.

  • Tragedy struck when her 24-year-old brother Brendan suffered a heart attack while at the gym. Maggie recounts the devastating details, including a delay in help and the family’s desperate hope as Brendan was placed on ECMO life support for a week.

  • Despite their faith in a miracle, scans revealed irreversible brain damage, forcing the family to face the unimaginable.

  • Maggie shares the heartfelt decision to donate Brendan’s organs, knowing his legacy would live on through others.

  • She finds comfort in knowing that Brendan’s heart, kidneys, and eyes gave life and sight to multiple people.

  • Reflecting on his legacy, Maggie describes Brendan as a source of inspiration, pushing her to continue his story through advocacy.

  • She also reveals the unexpected loss of her second brother, Colin, just months later, to an accidental overdose — a loss that deepened her purpose in helping others.

  • Maggie shares how she was inspired by a podcast episode and a local kidney recipient’s story to become a living donor herself.

  • With the unwavering support of her husband and community, she embarked on the journey to donate a kidney — describing the procedure as less invasive than her back surgery and the recovery as surprisingly manageable.

  • Maggie speaks candidly about her emotional healing after the surgery and how the experience became part of her process of grief and renewal.

  • She encourages listeners to consider organ and living donation, reminding them that it’s not only life-changing for the recipient but healing for the donor as well.

  • Maggie shares how her advocacy inspired Carrie, a local dietitian, to donate her own kidney to a stranger — a ripple effect that continues to grow.

  • She closes by reflecting on her brothers’ legacies, her mission to honor them, and the hope that others will be moved to give life through organ donation.

  • Andi Johnson thanks Maggie for her openness and courage, closing with a message of gratitude for those who turn tragedy into purpose.

    •  

    📝 Key Takeaways

     

    1. Turning Pain into Purpose: Maggie’s story shows how personal tragedy can become a powerful catalyst for compassion. Her choice to become a living donor transformed grief into hope — not only for herself but for others in need.

    2. The Ripple Effect of Donation: From Brendan’s selfless organ donation to Maggie’s own kidney gift — and now Carrie’s — one act of kindness can inspire a chain of generosity that touches countless lives.

    3. Healing Through Advocacy: Maggie’s work as an organ donation ambassador highlights how sharing personal stories can encourage others to register, donate, and change lives while preserving the memory of loved ones.

      4.  

      📢 Tweetable Quotes

       

      “After having two children, you carry two babies and your back. It really does a number on it, right? So, yeah. By the end of 2022, I couldn't stand for more than five minutes at a time. My nerve was completely pinched. I had been told I wasn't allowed to pick up my kids anymore.” 

      • Maggie Luken

        •  

        “And so I have like, two metal rods and four screws and a fake disc in my back now, yeah, but I feel great. It's, I mean, as soon as I woke up from surgery, the nerve pain was gone. It's, you know, it's awful their recovery. I'm not gonna lie, it's the hardest thing physically that I've ever gone through.” 

        • Maggie Luken

          •  

          “We found out that he had a heart attack at the gym where he worked at Planet Fitness, and nobody tried to help him. They just walked around him for almost five minutes before they tried to help or called 911, and so by the time the paramedics got there, they were able to restart his heart, but it had been 40 minutes…”

          • Maggie Luken on her brother, Brendan’s heart attack

            •  

            “It's really crazy to think that you know somebody out there is literally seeing the world through my brother's eyes. Somebody's heart is pumping blood through his heart valves. You know, there's somebody who has a personal liver now, and people have kidneys, and we got a message from someone who received like tissue and they were able to heal from something that they had been struggling with.” 

            • Maggie Luken

              •  

              “So the actual incisions for where it's done are very small, and then they do take it out in one piece, and so you have the larger, like, it's basically a C-section score. So I kind of just felt like I didn't have a C-section with either of my children, but I kind of just felt like I had to chill again. Like, after you have a baby, you're just taking it easy.”

              • Maggie Luken on her surgery




                • Resources:

                Donatelifeky.org

                https://getoffthelist.org/

                https://www.networkforhope.org/

                https://www.networkforhope.org/about-us/

                https://www.networkforhope.org/stories-of-hope/

                https://www.facebook.com/NetworkForHopeOPO

                https://www.youtube.com/@NetworkforHope.

                https://aopo.org/

                RegisterMe.org/NetworkforHope

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