TRIO Oklahoma Hosts Golf Tournament Fundraiser

TRIO Oklahoma is hosting a golf fundraiser Sept. 26th to fundraise for patients awaiting organ transplants.

The tournament is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at OakTree Country Club in Edmond.

Leaders with TRIO Oklahoma are working to connect more transplant patients from across the state. Their mission is to build a community and make a difference for those going through the transplant process.

Going through any medical emergency can be a terrifying and isolating experience. Leaders with TRIO said they felt that pain and worry, and now they are working hard to make sure other transplant patients know they are not alone.

Lorrinda Gray-Davis, the founder of TRIO Oklahoma, said when she learned she needed a transplant she was devastated.

"I had no one to talk to, I had no one who had been through it and for me I felt lost and alone," Gray-Davis said.

Benjamin Babb, the incoming president of TRIO Oklahoma, said he also felt isolated when he found out he needed a liver transplant.

"I really felt by myself whenever I was in the hospital because when the doctor told me I only had three months to live, I didn't have anyone to call," Babb said.

Babb said all that changed when he found TRIO.

"I found the community that had the knowledge that I didn't have, that google didn't have," Babb said. "No one tells you about a transplant unless you are going through it."

Babb was able to receive a transplant and said he now lives a healthy life.

"I don't want to waste this gift that I have been given," Babb said. "So I got involved with trio so I can give that gift to others."

Gray-Davis said TRIO has a goal of opening up a home for transplant patients while they are receiving care, as to make their lives easier when undergoing medical procedures.

"Everyone is impacted by a transplant, and you don't know you need it until you know," Gray-Davis said.

For more information on the tournament, click here.