Eric Irby 5/4/2011

To know Eric was to know a true southern gentleman. He was always respectful, kind and considerate to everyone he met. He had a way of calling older women "Hon." He was a bit of a flirt. His personality was unique. He was very intelligent, but never wanted to be treated any differently than anyone else. He had a goofy sense of humor that could have you laughing at his antics. He was attending college and studying Applied Electrical Sciences. He had a 4.0 in his studies. Eric had a huge heart and always looked for the good in anyone he met. I guess you could say that was one of his faults. He would often trust those that would end up letting him down. As smart as he was, he was unable to understand the evil that a person could do to another human being. After he was assaulted in 2008, he suffered from PTSD. This resulted in depression, anxiety attacks, and insomnia. He would be unable to "turn his brain off" to be able to sleep. Honesty and loyalty became attributes that he became obsessed with. He wanted to know "why"? could someone he did not even know almost kill him. He called me that night to tell me that he loved me. He loved his family so much. He tried to be strong for us. To stay here for us. But in the end, the pain and torment of his life, was more than he could cope with. Since Eric always tried to help those in need, we donated his organs. His gifts of life, saved 4 people. The most awesome gift was of his heart. His heart went to a 14 year old boy. Both of his lungs went to a 24 year old young man with cystic fibrosis. I know that Eric forgives me for leaving him on life support for 5 days until he was pronounced brain dead because his gifts were miracles to the families of the recipients.