As the first anniversary of her infant daughter’s death approached, Dunlap School teacher Kelly Sanders found herself searching for a way to channel her grief into something positive.

The answer came in the form of an opportunity to organize and host a blood drive in memory of Brooklyn, who died of a heart defect and required several blood transfusions during the course of her short life.

Sanders said she hopes to collect at least 46 blood donations during Saturday’s drive — one for each day Brooklyn lived.

“Sometimes we’re not connected to other people, and I think this has been a growing experience for me to connect with other people and know what’s happening in the community,” Sanders said of the blood drive and her daughter’s death.

Last year, Sanders and her husband Andy, who live in Orcutt, were thrilled to learn they would soon become parents to twin girls.

However, joy and elation quickly turned to fear and uncertainty when Sanders had a routine ultrasound at 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

The couple found out that one of their twins had a congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot, a collection of four major abnormalities of the heart that prevent oxygen rich blood from flowing through the body properly.

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While Sanders had the option to abort Brooklyn, the soon-to-be mother had no trouble deciding against the procedure.

“We were going to love her no matter what,” she said.

In preparation for the impending birth, the Sanders’ made plans to travel to Los Angeles, where doctors at UCLA would be standing by to receive and treat Brooklyn within seconds of her arrival.

But nature had other things in mind for the couple, and at 29 weeks, Kelly’s water broke, forcing her into pre-term labor.

At 5:41 a.m. Oct. 16, Sanders gave birth to Aubrey at Sierra Vista Hospital in San Luis Obispo, with Brooklyn following one minute later.

“It was bittersweet,” Sanders said of the twins’ birth. “It was amazing to finally meet them and see them, but at the same time they were both very tiny.”

Aubrey weighed in at 2.8 pounds while Brooklyn weighed in at 2.6 pounds.

To the Sanders’ relief, a spot quickly opened up in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Stanford University’s esteemed Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and Brooklyn was immediately air lifted to Palo Alto for treatment.

Despite a successful open heart surgery that repaired her defect, Brooklyn contracted a raging infection that her fragile, premature body simply did not have the strength to fight off.

On Nov. 30, 2007, Brooklyn’s parents made the decision to take her off life support.

Brooklyn’s illness did, however, have one bright spot.

Two days before Brooklyn’s surgery, her mother got to hold her for the first time.

“It was probably the best moment of my life,” Sanders said. “I probably held her close to 20 minutes. And we took lots of photos, so I’m able to look back at all the photos and remember all the moments that we had with her.”

And it was the desire to honor that memory that inspired Sanders to organize Brooklyn’s Blood Drive.

“For me, the blood drive is just one more way Brooklyn is helping other people,” Sanders said. “She can save lives.”

Brooklyn’s Blood Drive will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dunlap parking lot at 1220 Oak Knoll Road in Orcutt.

For more information, call 938-8500.

December 5, 2008