(upbeat music) - Upbeat Music - Hi, I'm Jacqui Tricarico, Senior Correspondent for "One-on-One," and I'm here at the New Jersey Sharing Network 5K Celebration of Life in New Providence, New Jersey, here to honor all those impacted by organ and tissue donation.

I'm so pleased to be joined now by Emmie Bleznick, who is the wife of organ donor, Adam, and captain of the team, Adam's Warrior.

So great to have you with us, Emmie.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

Well, first, please tell us about your husband, Adam, and how he was as a husband and a father.

- Adam was an incredible guy.

He never met a stranger.

He was super outgoing, super friendly.

He just connected people, and that was, like, one of his superpowers, and I loved that about him.

And he loved our son, Noah, endlessly.

He was such a great dad.

He was super fun and sweet.

- And how long ago did we lose Adam?

- Two years ago, so June 2nd, 2024.

- Okay, so take us back to that time for you and your family.

Obviously I'm so sorry for your loss.

Can't imagine what you were going through, the thoughts, the emotions.

And then you're presented with this idea of organ and tissue donation.

Talk about that journey for you and your family and everybody making sure that was a decision to honor Adam.

- Yeah, so we lost Adam very suddenly.

It was cardiac arrest.

And so kind of in a blink, I became a single mom and a widow, and navigating that was really, really challenging.

I know about The Sharing Network, because I'm actually a physical therapist at University Hospital.

So I have been working with donor recipients, liver transplant recipients specifically, and donor families in the setting of working in the trauma unit and in the surgical ICU for almost my entire career, almost 15 years.

And I knew about this 5K, even though I had never participated in it.

I always knew it was in early June, and it just was so automatic, considering how generous in spirit Adam was and what a special way this would be to honor him.

And also to have something tangible for our son, Noah, to do every year around the anniversary of his dad's passing and something so positive to help remember his dad.

- So did Adam have that box checked?

- He did, absolutely.

- He did, and you did too.

- Absolutely.

- Because of these conversations that you had together.

Those are difficult conversations to have.

- Yes.

- We talk about it as dinner table conversation, right?

To making it more real to be able to be a dinner table conversation with your family members.

What's your message to people hesitant to talk about something that can be really painful or uncomfortable?

- It is a really challenging topic and it can be hard, but you just have to think about what a gift that you're giving so many different people.

Adam was mainly a tissue donor.

He wasn't really able to donate organs, and I think that's something that sometimes is underrepresented.

As a physical therapist, I know that impact every single day, that is an ACL that lets somebody run, that's a bone graft that lets somebody walk.

Eyes, maybe giving somebody the gift of vision.

And so just taking a step back and thinking that, whatever you have in this life, you can't take it with you.

And so making sure that you can give that gift to somebody else in the wake of a tragedy has been so important for me.

And I think that's probably the best way to go about it.

- Yeah, and the tissue donation, like you said, it is underrepresented a little bit, but we're talking about millions and millions of people that need tissue grafts for lots of everyday surgeries that people are doing to improve their quality of life.

What do you think Adam would think, looking down now at what he was able to accomplish being an organ and tissue donor?

Because even though you check that box, you personally are probably thinking, "Oh, that probably won't ever be me."

But what do you think he's thinking?

- He would just be so proud.

He just, he was a people person.

Like I said, he never met a stranger.

He was so outgoing and so kind.

And I think that this gift of kindness would be a way that he would feel very represented and really that he knows how important it would be.

And I know that he's looking down and he's really, really proud.

- And Noah being here, like you said, how are you making sure Noah is honoring his dad in this way?

Obviously, today is a big day for him, but every day and keeping Adam's spirit alive in your home.

- I mean, first of all, I mean, you see pictures of Noah, and you see pictures of Adam, it's the same picture.

He's just the sitting image of his dad.

- [Jacqui] So you see him every day in Noah.

- [Emmie] Absolutely, his smile, and even the fact that he is, he's five, and he's got glasses already, just like Adam had.

And he just, it's an incredible reminder, for me, of Adam every single day.

And we talk about his dad all the time.

We talk about the things he loved, the Mets, the Giants, all sorts of sports.

He was really interested in wine and spirits.

That was his industry for a really long time.

And even just in kindness and being friendly to people in his smile.

That's a way that we continue to honor Adam every day through Noah.

- Being your second year at the 5K, like we talked about, walking around, give people a sense, who haven't been here who are watching, give people a sense of what it feels like to be out there with thousands of people who have similar journeys and experiences.

- [Emmie] It's everything.

This is a really, really special day for me.

His anniversary was just five days ago, and grief is quite a journey.

And that day felt different than last year, which was the first year.

I'm sure it'll feel different for me every single year.

But this event, for me specifically, really, really helps me remember, helps me honor Adam, and it's really important to share that with other people, those stories.

We had set up our tent yesterday, and I was the first one here, and we were next to another family, and they had a bar, and I started chatting with them, and they poured me a cocktail, and I was able to listen to their story.

And it's just amazing.

It's a really hard way to be connected to people, but it's a really important way to be connected to people.

It's like an instant bond.

And this event brings everybody together, and that's really, really important.

- How are those stories what helps bridge everybody together, but also get that messaging out to people who just don't quite understand or know that they could even check that box for themselves and make that decision?

- I think that's why the Sharing Network organization itself is so important.

This walk sheds light on these issues that can be really challenging to talk about.

And every single time someone is able to share their story through a medium like this, through social media, it gets the story out there, it gets the message out there that organ and tissue donation is such an important and impactful thing that you can do.

And it really is life-changing for so many people.

- It really is, and Adam gave such a beautiful gift, and thank you so much for letting us honor him here while you're honoring him every single day, you, and Noah, and your entire families.

Thank you so much.

- Thanks, Jacqui.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by New Jersey Sharing Network.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

PSE&G.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

NJM Insurance Group.

And by The Center for Autism Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Media.

And by Insider NJ.

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