2018 NJSPBA
Mini-Convention
A lifesaving legacy
When Cynthia Kudron lost her son to a
drug overdose, she and her family didn’t
know how they would move forward.
Christian was only 25 when his drug use
caught up to him on Aug. 17, 2017. As para-
medics worked to stabilize Christian in
his bedroom, where he was found uncon-
scious, Cynthia was somehow reminded of
the day her son turned 19. He was getting
a new driver’s license and checked the box
that made him an organ donor.
“They revived his heart,” explained Kud-
ron, an administrator at the State PBA of-
fice in Woodbridge, during her emotional
speech at the Mini Convention. “I told (the
first responders) that he was an organ do-
nor when he was taken to the critical care
unit in Rahway.”
For five days, Cynthia watched her com-
passionate, giving son on life support and
thought about the things she might never
see him do, like move in with his longtime
girlfriend, get married, have kids and grow
old. When Christian was officially called
on Aug. 22, that fear became a reality. But
Christian still had an opportunity to make
his mark on the world with the donation of
his organs.
“His last gift to the world was granted
through the NJ Sharing Network,” Cynthia
stated.
Overstruck with heartache and grief,
Cynthia has found comfort in knowing
that Christian was able to give the gift of
life through the nonprofit organization
that pairs lifesaving organ and tissue dona-
tions with the thousands of people waiting
for transplants. His gifts spread across the
country: His heart went to a man in New
Jersey, his cornea to a woman in Ohio, and
a kidney to a recipient in California.
“If not for the Sharing Network, I would
have had a much harder time getting
through his loss,” Cynthia stressed as part
of a presentation to educate members
about the organization.
Besides giving Christian a way to live on
through the gift of organ donations, the NJ
Sharing Network creates a support system
for donor families. NJ Sharing Network
Foundation Programs Coordinator Janet
Brown spoke passionately about the bonds
the Sharing Network creates with families
like Cynthia’s to carry on the legacy of the
donors.
“My favorite part of the job is getting
to meet families who give the gift of life,”
Brown confirmed. “We are a second fam-
ily, and we honor the loved one’s legacies
forever.”
Brown urged PBA members to spread
the word of the NJ Sharing Network. She
Cynthia Kudron, an administrator for the NJ
State PBA, tells how she learned of the impact
of organ and tissue donors through the loss of
her son.
recognized that the waiting list for lifesav-
ing transplants continues to grow, but with
more public education, the 4,000 people
waiting in New Jersey alone can be helped
and even saved.
“You are all heroes in your own right,”
Brown told the crowd. “We need your help
to spread the word of how important this
is. You’re the leaders of your communities.”
Registering to be an organ donor is as
easy as going to the online national reg-
istry, which can be found through the NJ
Sharing Network website (https://www.
njsharingnetwork.org/). d
Look out for ‘Below 100’
“Does your agency have a problem?”
R. Scot Haug, a retired chief from Idaho,
stressed that members can’t afford not to
know the answer to the question. During
his presentation at the Mini Convention,
Haug explained that many agencies don’t
know if they have a problem until it’s too
late. He shared that the number of Line-
of-Duty Deaths each year averages around
160 – many of which are preventable.
“I don’t want you to go to a funeral of
a friend and know you could have done
something to prevent it,” he urged.
Haug presented the Below 100 program,
a program with the mission is to reduce the
number of Line-of-Duty Deaths each year
to fewer than 100. To do this, Haug and
hundreds of other Below 100 representa-
tives travel to different law enforcement
agencies to bring attention to the causes of
accidents that can be prevented.
“We can change the culture and start
holding ourselves accountable,” Haug
stressed.
He explained the five objectives for of-
ficers and agencies to start holding them-
selves more accountable:
• Wear your seat belt.
• Wear your vest.
• Watch your speed.
• WIN: What’s Important Now?
• Remember: Complacency kills
Wearing seat belts and bulletproof vests
and watching the speed limit may seem like
standard safety precautions, but as Haug’s
presentation displayed pictures of patrol
cars wrapped around telephone poles and
video footage of cops playing late-night
speeding games that end up deadly, it be-
came apparent that officers can never be
too cautious.
Haug also noted that the average age
of preventable Line-of-Duty Deaths is be-
tween 42 and 45 years old to emphasize the
Below 100 motto that “complacency kills.”
And he reminded that the more success-
ful years an officer has on the job, the less
aware he or she may become of the basic
safety mechanisms that save lives.
Every time Haug presents to a group of
Retired Chief R. Scot Haug presented the Below
100 program to help agencies prevent acci-
dents that lead to Line-of-Duty Deaths.
law enforcement, he thinks about the bus-
loads of survivors who travel to the Candle-
light Vigil in Washington, D.C., during Na-
tional Police Week to honor lost loved ones.
The Below 100 Program wants to work with
law enforcement agencies across the coun-
try so that officers take responsibility for
their safety and their lives and fewer bus-
es will be needed to bring survivors to the
Candlelight Vigil. d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ MARCH 2018 51