SAN ANTONIO – You’ve heard it before: “Give the gift of life,” but for one mother, it’s more than just a saying.
For Nicole Czelusta, getting more people to donate blood is part of her lifelong mission.
Czelusta’s life changed when she was just fifteen years old. Her mother, brother and best friend never made it to the football game she was supposed to cheer at.
“They were involved in a car accident in a rural part of Jourdanton and my brother, my mother and my best friend Jessica died,” Czelusta said.
Through the tragedy, Czelusta began giving the gift of life, something her late best friend championed. “I felt that one of the best ways to honor her, my mother and my brother was to give back as much as I could, and so I took on her cause as my
cause,” Czelusta continued. Her cause eventually became a calling to service. Czelusta became a nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit and looked at blood donation from a different perspective.
“It was amazing to see how quickly a patient could recover once the blood started flowing into his veins,” Czelusta said.
Czelusta didn’t know they would both need blood. She was in the delivery room when her twins were born, and it was an exciting moment that led to an emotional turnaround.
“I was bleeding. My husband was by my side and he said he saw me turn completely pale. It was horrible.”
Through the selfless act of a stranger, Czelusta is able to be the wife and mother she is today.
“I woke up and saw my babies, which still hits me hard because I was close to losing everything I wanted.”
Czelusta says she is forever grateful to her donor who changed her life.
“I believe that giving of yourself, in the truest sense of the word, is truly the most beautiful and selfless act someone can do,” Czelusta said.
