(Source) At Sunday’s St. Anthony’s Triathlon, Kevin McCormack sprinted for his son.
Shane McCormack, 20, died while training for the same event two years ago. His 57-year-old father’s participation in the race was the fulfillment of a promise to Shane, and also served to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation.
Shane, who passed away unexpectedly, was a a St. Pete High alum, a track athlete, a golf enthusiast and a registered organ donor. Kevin McCormack said that Shane had expressed interest in being a donor when he was getting his driving permit, which was a surprise, because the family had never discussed organ donation at home. “I had a conversation with them [our kids]… to say that when it comes to being an organ donor there’s a massive responsibility that encompasses that,” McCormack said. “And are these your intentions? Is this what you want? Because, even though it’s an unthinkable situation, if that comes to pass, if this is what you want, we’re going to honor those wishes.”
Shane was unwavering in his decision. Kevin describes him as “adamant” in his commitment to being an organ donor.
Upon Shane’s passing in 2023, six people in Florida were able to receive his donated organs, and 36 have benefited from his tissue donations, procedures that were facilitated by Tampa-based organ procurement organization, LifeLink Foundation.
McCormack, who normally trains with music but went without for the race, said that without the distraction of sound, he had a lot of time to reflect. Looking at the race participants, he noticed many with surgical scars and wondered if perhaps they had benefited from Shane’s donations. “His heart could be there right now, in this kid … his kidney could be in that boy, right now. He’s all around me,” McCormack reflected.
“At any moment, I could be walking by anybody, and there he [Shane] goes— a father pushing his stroller, the person on the plane, the person at the restaurant, the person you pass in the street. Maybe there goes a part of your loved one who is helping that person live.” While McCormack was mourning the death of his son, he was also celebrating the new ways in which Shane’s life lives on.
McCormack had trained over a year for the race, and upon crossing the finish line, he said, he felt nothing – at first. “I didn’t have any immediate feeling. Put an ice rag on my head and neck and drank a Gatorade. Then I felt a very sudden urge.”
McCormack climbed up on the seawall and ran through his memories with Shane. The family had lived on Beach Drive, the kids had gone to swimming lessons at North Shore Pool, they played in the parks that dotted the course.
The race course was, in some ways, their life course.
McCormack had a realization on the seawall: “Death is as much part of life as birth. it’s inseparable from it, and in that, life doesn’t end at death. And I’m not talking in a spiritual sort of way, but to tie it back to the possibilities that arise because of organ donation.”
The emotion was palpable in his voice: “I had to let go of Shane’s death to embrace the fact that so many other ways he’s still alive. It’s really beautiful.”