At age 22, Ian Heidemann had a sense about how his journey in life would unfold. That's what he told his mom, Janis.
"He wanted to be famous," she said.
But Ian didn't really know how... and didn't have enough time to find out.
Ian was a bit of daredevil. Almost four years ago, he went car surfing; that's laying on top of a moving car. It's a detail the Heidemanns have never shared before, but want parents to know about.
"So, he slipped and fell. The car was moving. He hit his head, and he never came back," said his dad, Rob Heidemann.
Ian's parents didn't know it, but he was a registered organ donor. Within hours of his death — with the assistance of the coordinating group called LifeGift — Ian saved five lives by donating his major organs.
Even his hand was transplanted onto a farmer from Indiana (that one made big news). Janis had a chance to hold her son's hand again when she met the farmer.
"I said, 'Maybe I'd want to kiss it,' but I thought, 'No, that's just too much,'" she said. "It's hard not to look at it when you're sitting next to him.
And so, it's becoming clear, Ian sent his grieving parents to finish his journey of letting the world know who he was.
And that's why, last week, a group of people gathered at JPS Health in Fort Worth — including a man who's alive because of Ian's lungs, and a woman saved by Ian's kidney and pancreas.
Every New Year's Day, in the Parade of Roses, there's a float honoring organ donors. This year, Ian's face will be on it as a "floragraph" — a portrait created by an artist out of dried flowers.
At the Fort Worth event, his parents and organ recipients had a chance to apply the finishing touches to the portrait.
"If we can help with Ian's story... help LifeGift and other donors, people needing transplants through this story... we're more than happy to do it," Rob Heidemann told the group. "He would. He would be more than happy to do it. So, thank you."
The floragraph is now on its way to Rose Parade, and the Heidemann's will be there on January 1.
It's as if Ian's journey continues. Not the way he would've planned it, but beautiful, nonetheless.
For more information about becoming an organ donor: