Anna Hudson Memorial gives the gift of life

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Anna Hudson loved her family and her friends.
“She stared deeply into your eyes from the moment she was born,” said her mother, Bonita Hudson. “She had big brown eyes that caught your attention and wouldn’t let go. That showed her personality … she loved to gather people together and celebrate occasions.
“When she was in junior high, she was devastated when people didn’t get along.”
In high school, Anna was on every fundraiser committee.
“She was definitely very determined … when that determination was turned in the right direction, it accomplished wonderful things.”
“It’s like her self-confidence came from shepherding other people,” said Art Hudson, Anna’s father.
“She encouraged – sometimes very, very, very, very strongly!” Bonita Hudson said. “She did have a drive to be the best she could be. She just wouldn’t push herself ahead of somebody else.”
In university, Anna organized study circles to help her friends.
“Sometimes she was so worried about her friends, she actually didn’t get as good marks as she could have,” her mother said. “She wanted to make a difference in the world … she was driven to it.”
One way to make a difference was by giving blood.
The family of Anna’s high school friend Danny Cammaert had a blood donation tradition called “Bleed and Feed.”
The person who gave blood most quickly chose the restaurant where they ate afterward. The slowest donor paid for their meal. Anna accompanied them before she was old enough to donate, and when she turned 18, she started donating – and urging other friends to give.
Anna gave over 50 donations by the time she was 26. She’d also earned an engineering degree, was working for KMC Mining in Fort McMurray, and had earned her Professional Engineering designation.
In November 2015, three weeks before her 27th birthday, Anna went with friends to Mexico. They went swimming in the ocean. Anna was caught in a riptide and drowned.
“Anna’s passing hit me fairly hard,” said Danny Cammaert in an e-mail. “This was an occasion that I needed to do something to help everyone – the Hudson family and her many, many friends – cope.”
Cammaert set up a memorial blood drive, April 13 at Calgary’s Canadian Blood Services clinic. Thirteen people, at least five first-time donors, donated in Anna’s name. More friends and family members donated elsewhere.
“I’m extremely encouraged by the response … it takes a lot of courage to go to the clinic to get poked with a needle and give up almost half a litre of blood,” Cammaert wrote. “I think this could be a regular event … in November, nearing the one-year mark of losing Anna, I may decide to do a second blood drive.”
Blood and blood products are essential to medical care, says Canadian Blood Services’ website. A person undergoing heart surgery or cancer treatment, for example, might need blood from five donations. A person with leukemia could need eight donations per week.
All of this is meaningful to Anna’s parents, who hope the drive will continue.
“There are enough people that are thinking about making her life mean something,” said Bonita Hudson. “Her potential was cut short.”
They’ve also created the Anna Hudson Memorial Scholarship for East Wheatland students.
“We’re looking for, not necessarily the person who would get all the awards,” said Anna’s mother, “but someone who is enthusiastic and helps others succeed.”
Someone like Anna.
Anna’s legacy continues in numerous ways. She’d schedule family get-togethers, and her cousins especially miss that. Her parents took a vacation last year because Anna urged them. Her mother has a large garden, partly because Anna liked fresh garden vegetables.
For all of this and more, they miss Anna.
“Things can give you peace and then things can open up the wound again … sometimes they’re the same things,” said Bonita Hudson said. “Without people praying for us, we wouldn’t be able to stand. I appreciate every person who has done that. And I urge them … do not stint on your prayers.”
The next Strathmore blood donor clinic is April 29. Book an appointment at blood.ca or 1-888-236-6283. Ask for an In Honour Card and give the completed card to the Hudsons, or contact Cammaert at dcammaer@ualberta.ca.