Founder of Sheila's Saving A Life Campaign
DeShawn Lelita McMillan is the founder of “Sheila’s Saving A Life Campaign.” She is the oldest child of the late Sheila Ann Reddick and is determined, through God’s guidance and vision, to help families avoid the pain and suffering she has endured, along with her siblings, since her mother’s death. This death has been especially hard on DeShawn’s son, her mother’s oldest grandson. Despite her grief, DeShawn has vowed to use her mother’s death to empower herself and others, rather than to feel powerless.
DeShawn is the wife of Marquette Antonio McMillan, Sr. and the mother of Joseph Lorenzo Dorsey, Jr. and MaKia Antonia McMillan. She is a member of a dynamic ministry in the Washington metropolitan area, Union Temple Baptist Church, and gives credit to her pastor, the Reverend Willie F. Wilson, and co-pastor, Rev. Mary L. Wilson, for their anointing sermons. She is strengthened, encouraged, and spiritually fed from their insight.
DeShawn is a Federal employee at the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) and she serves as chair for the Adopt-A-Family subcommittee of GPO’s Federal Women’s Program. This subcommittee helps those in the community who are less fortunate. DeShawn is also a student at the University of the District of Columbia, majoring in Sociology. As a promise to her mom, she is determined to complete her studies.
DeShawn’s philosophy in life is to always reach out and help others. She believes that we, as a people, are all one day short of needing a helping hand. DeShawn serves on numerous area boards and visits group homes to speak to troubled teens. Together with the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium, she hopes to raise awareness about the benefits of organ and tissue donation.
Testimony of DeShawn Lelita McMillan
Sheila's Death – An Avoidable Tragedy
November 21, 2005 was one of the most tragic days of my life. That was the day I received a call from the Intensive Care Unit at the Washington Hospital Center. I was asked to come to the hospital immediately. You see, my mom was ill and had taken a turn for the worse. She had been comatose for eight days, and she was in need of a liver transplant. Just before she fell into a coma her last words to me were, “I just don’t want to die and leave you all.”
I was asked to make the conscious decision to remove her from “life support.” Her kidneys were shutting down, antibiotics had failed, and fluid build-up was taking over her body. The most influential woman in my life was now fighting for her life, and all I could do was pray and cry. She gave me life, nurtured me, and helped me take care of my kids. My brothers, Reginald and Derrick, and I instructed the doctors to stop “life-support,” and she was gone five minutes later. We stood in dismay as she transcended into her new life right before our eyes. My son, Joseph Dorsey, Jr., said his good-byes and covered her. I left the hospital feeling broken and exhausted.
The Birth of Sheila's Save a Life Campaign – A Purposeful Mission
Imagining life without my mother was unthinkable. Without her, I wanted to give up and die, but God wouldn’t let me. I asked God, “Lord, why me?” He clearly told me He had some work for me to do after my mother’s death. He said, “DeShawn, I will put no more on you than you can bear. I left you here to be a spokesperson for your mom. She left in silence, always knowing you had the courage to speak up and out.”
Giving the Gift of Life
Become a Donor
Sheila Reddick was a mother, sister, grandmother, devoted friend, aunt, niece, and daughter. She was near the top of the list for a liver transplant; but, tragically, she died three days before her birthday. She made her transition to Heaven never having received her transplant because of the lack of donors.
If you or someone you know is interested in organ and tissue donation, please read more about volunteering as a donor or contact DeShawn McMillan. You can also contact the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium.