My Son Said No! | Grieving Army Dad Speaks Out - S.O.S. #259

A 24-year Army veteran races 28 hours to his soldier son’s bedside and steps into a maze of tests, policies, and a life-or-death decision he never agreed to. Eddie Peoples recounts the night an apnea test was called “inconclusive,” the promised blood-flow study was dropped, and a brain death declaration arrived anyway—followed by a “family advocate” carrying a donor registry printout the family says does not reflect Keone’s wishes.

We walk through the ICU timeline in detail: early assurances that injuries looked survivable, abrupt scheduling and cancellations of critical exams, and the moment consent became the central battle. Eddie lays out why the family opposes organ donation on religious grounds, how two government IDs showed no donor designation, and why a no-signature, shifting-date registry record raised alarms. Along the way, we unpack how hospitals coordinate with organ procurement organizations, where state rules mandate notification, and why families so often feel the process becomes unstoppable once “donor” appears on a chart.

This conversation goes beyond one case to surface the bigger issues: the ethics of brain death determinations under time pressure, the reliability of online donor registries, and the need for clear, verifiable consent. We share practical steps to protect your choices—advance directives, named proxies, consistent updates across DMV, military, and VA systems, and a dated video statement your family can present if records conflict. Whether you support organ donation or question its current safeguards, this story asks for transparency, accountability, and respect for patient autonomy when it matters most.

If this moved you, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your takeaways. Your voice can help more families document their wishes and avoid preventable turmoil.

Transcript

Opening And Heavy Topic Preview

SPEAKER_03 0:01

There are so many things that we don't think about in the course of our lives. And to be honest, there were a lot of things about my journey, even with this issue, that I never fully thought through. And that is the question of organ donation. And it is an issue many, many people think is the gift of life, and they're giving something that will help and aid another individual. And while that may be true, there's also other parts of this issue that I was very ill-informed about and I am still learning about. And as I learn about this and talk about these hard issues, I want to bring you guys into these conversations because they need to be had. And to share a tragic story tonight, I will tell you this is a little sad. I have Eddie Peoples. He is an Army veteran. Eddie, how are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Under the circumstances, as best as I can be. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 0:58

Absolutely. And welcome everybody to the Stories of Service Podcast, ordinary people who do extraordinary work. I'm the host of the Stories of Service Podcast. And to get this kicked off, as we always do, I'm going to play an introduction. He was my first podcast guest, Charlie Pickard, and he's also my father.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

From the moment we're born, we walk out with our parents. We are inspiring others. By showing up with a vessel of service, we not only help others, we help ourselves. Welcome.

Introducing Eddie Peoples And His Service

SPEAKER_03 1:42

And as I said today, this is going to be a heavy issue. We're going to be talking today about brain death, organ harvesting, and Eddie and his family's fight for the truth. On January 27, 2026, Army private Keone Peoples was involved in a motorcycle accident in Bakers, California. Within hours, he was airlifted to a trauma center in Las Vegas. Doctors initially told his family that because of his age and physical condition, he would likely recover. His father, retired sergeant first class Eddie Peoples, a 24-year Army veteran, began a 28-hour journey from the Philippines with his eldest son to get to Keone's bedside. What happened next would change their lives forever. And this is what we're going to talk about today. How are you doing, Eddie?

SPEAKER_02 2:24

I'm still dealing with it. It's fresh in my mind.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Tomorrow I travel to actually go to Michigan to bury him. His funeral will be on the 7th.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

So to get this started, let's let's introduce the audience a little bit to you and about who you are. So you served in the Army for, I know you retired. And uh what was your what what what did you uh when did you retire?

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Okay. Uh my primary job in the army, I was at 88 November, which is a transportation management specialist. Uh in layman's terms, I just moved stuff around the world. Troops, uh equipment, anything like that. I was a go-to guy for that uh for most of my career. Uh later on, I became an instructor at the first Army Academy. And even after that, uh over in Jordan, I was the mayor of one of our secret squirrel bases. So wow. Uh yeah. Um, I retired in uh November of 2024.

SPEAKER_03 3:37

Okay. And you made the choice to live overseas, and you have other sons besides Keone. Is Keone the one that was the only who one who decided to join the army or join the military?

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Yes, he followed he followed my footsteps. Uh I got out in November. He came in uh February of 2025.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

Okay. Okay, so he wasn't in very long at all. And what what was his and that was his reason for wanting to join the army because he wanted to carry on that family tradition?

SPEAKER_02 4:10

He did. Yep. We uh we talked about it on a lot of nights.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

So what did he what did he think of the army so far? Was he was he doing pretty well at that point?

SPEAKER_02 4:18

He he absolutely loved it. Uh we would talk all the time, uh, because I was in the Philippines, of course. Uh because you live. Yes, I have a group chat. I actually have four boys. Um his older brother was actually in the Philippines with me. We were doing like a little backpacking across uh the Pacific. So um his next to oldest brother uh lives in Florida, and his youngest brother lives in Michigan with his mom.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

We are we are divorced, so um yeah. So okay.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

So take me back to uh January, uh late, late January when this uh tragic incident got started. Tell me a little bit about how you found out and and and what sort of how things unfolded.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Okay. I had just talked to Keone uh maybe on the 26th. Uh again, you uh the Philippines is one day ahead. So when I got the word of what was happening, it was uh actually the 28th for me, but it was the 27th, almost midnight for uh Keone. I had talked to him the day before, everything was fine. Uh you know, he had shared some pictures, just a regular conversation we would have. Uh I was notified by my ex. Uh, she called, actually, she called my son because I had I had left my phone in the room. And uh when we when we found out about it, it was it was later that night uh in the Philippines. Um she told me she was like, hey, Keone's been in a very bad accident. She listed his uh injuries to me, and she said, uh the doctors are telling her because she wasn't there either.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

He was where was she?

SPEAKER_03 6:11

Where was she out?

SPEAKER_02 6:12

She was still in Michigan.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

Okay.

Keone’s Accident And Initial Prognosis

SPEAKER_02 6:13

She was still in Michigan. And um, you know, she she gave me, she gave me and and his brother a rundown of what was happening. Uh she spoke to the doctors, and the doctors assured her they were like, even though he has bad injuries, uh, he should be okay. He's young, he's in the army, uh, he should recover just fine. Um I I listened to the injuries, you know, and I've been in combat before and I've seen these kinds of injuries, and it and immediately I was like, I gotta get over there right away. So I started the process of buying tickets for me and my son.

SPEAKER_03 6:52

Can you describe what the injuries were that they yes?

SPEAKER_02 6:56

Uh he had two broken femurs, so his thigh bones were broken. He had a shattered left arm uh in three places. Uh they told me he had broken ribs and he had spinal damage, but they also conveyed to my ex that it wasn't the type that would leave him paralyzed, you know. So everything in the beginning was really, really positive.

SPEAKER_03 7:19

While we know that sounds recoverable, all everything you said.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

Exactly. And uh broken ribs, uh, and he had head trauma. From what I could see, uh there wasn't and there wasn't any like broken bones in his head or anything. He just had head trauma. Uh he had ripped his scalp uh a little bit. So uh those were his injuries. And at first they were telling us, hey, it's gonna be okay, you know.

SPEAKER_03 7:50

Um were they advising that you go though? I mean, were they saying, oh no?

SPEAKER_02 7:55

No, they were actually uh yeah, they were actually telling us, hey, it's not that bad. Uh you don't have to rush, you know, you can come if you want, but you don't really have to, uh, as long as one person comes or something. And okay, at the at the time, my ex was like, I'm gonna come. Right. I'm like, I'm like, I'm coming too. So yeah, I was looking for tickets, and um the best ticket I could find was a 28-hour flight, and it wouldn't leave until the 31st. So there was one on the 30th, but if I would have taken that, it was like a ridiculous time frame. It was like almost 50 hours, and it was like all these layovers and stops. I would have actually got there like on the fourth or something, so I was like, nah, I can't do that. Um got on the plane, uh, everything was going okay. I get a text from the my ex-wife, and she's like, they're saying it's uh soon as she got there, actually. Soon as she got there, that's when she kind of got the truth. And they're like, uh, it's worse than we thought. You know, uh, when he first came in, his eyes were dilating, meaning uh his brain was still reacting. When she got there, they're like, his eyes aren't dilating. Uh and she got in a conversation with a neurosurgeon who ended up being the one who called him brain dead, who called it. Uh and that was very troubling to me because I'm traveling, I'm trying to get there.

SPEAKER_04 9:25

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

And this guy's talking to her, and he's pretty much being like nonchalant about it. Like, we're gonna test him. Uh, and if we find that he's brain dead, that's all we need in the state of uh Las Vegas to pronounce him brain dead. And um, she got kind of like in an argument with him because she was like, he's only been here for like at that time, I think it was like two and a half days. He's only been here for like two and a half days solid. And the guy was just like, Well, that's just the way it is here. So that was that was troubling for me. I didn't put it together uh that he was on the organ donor thing or anything, because our whole family's been against that, but I'll I'll cover that in a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

Yeah, I was gonna say, let's let's we'll we'll because I want to really also talk about the fact that you you and your family also had a a shared understanding, and it was something that you and your sons talked about, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:22

That nobody religiously, religiously. Um this wasn't something new. Uh back when I first got married, my ex-wife she has a sister who had a brain tumor, and she ended up uh going into a coma during the treatment. And the doctors kept telling the family, hey, she's not gonna make it, let's go ahead and pull the plug and harvest her ordnance. And the family was dead set against it. She woke up, she's still alive right now. So uh my ex-wife definitely, definitely did not ever want to have any organ donation for any of us. Uh that's pretty much how we grew up, and I and that that relationship, you know.

SPEAKER_04 11:09

Right.

Family Beliefs About Organ Donation

SPEAKER_02 11:09

I joined the army, I got in, uh, I never put it on my military ID. You are given the opportunity when you come in, if you want to be an organ donor with your military cat card. Um, I never would do it because of this, and I I would also never do my driver's license. Uh, I would have talked to with my my children as soon as they were able to like drive or something. It's not a good idea, you know what I mean? Sure. Um, so I was unaware that they were gonna say that he was on an organ donor. So I was like, you know, when I get there, I'm sure they're gonna do everything they can for my son. He's a U.S. soldier, uh, everything's paid for, so there shouldn't be a problem.

SPEAKER_03 11:55

Right, right. So you arrive. And did anything else happen uh besides your wife telling you that he wasn't as he wasn't doing as well as we originally thought, other than that update between the time that you left the Philippines and when you got to the hospital. Any other updates?

SPEAKER_02 12:15

One one other uh add-on to that was the doctor was telling her uh that he wanted to do this test, and it was a it's a barrage of tests. So uh they kept telling her that, and she was she was struck by how odd it was, and I was struck by how odd it was that they were trying to do it so fast, uh with the emphasis on him being brain dead. So I thought that was really awkward. And and I think somewhere in my mind I kind of thought about it, but I was like, no, there's no way, you know, because even when I got there, I looked at his ID cards, his driver's license and his military ID card. He did not have the donor on there. So I kind of had like a little, you know, sure, can't be that, you know what I mean? And then I was more focused on being there with him.

SPEAKER_03 13:07

So you um just so that I you had eyes on his driver's license, you had eyes on his military ID card. And I know we don't have copies of that now, but you had eyes on those, and on those cards, they did not say organ donor, correct?

SPEAKER_02 13:22

Correct. That is correct. Uh while he was in the when I arrived, uh, do you want me to go into that now or do you want me to wait?

SPEAKER_03 13:31

Um no, I I think we we kind of covered everything up to up to the in the transition, in the journey of the thing that you heard.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

Uh I saw both of his IDs because they had them actually photocopied. Uh in his room, they had a a workstation, and every time the nurse came in, she would pull up his things and his ID. Uh, for for, and it was weird because for certain things, his military ID would come up. For other things, his driver's license would come up. So you could you could see a clear picture of both of them, right? I mean, it was probably like that big. Um, and yeah, he didn't have it on there.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

All right. So you arrived to the hospital and tell me about the initial hours that you were there and what and and and what you were being told.

Arrival In Las Vegas And ICU Reality

SPEAKER_02 14:20

So I I arrived after a 28-hour flight uh at the hospital uh 11:30 on the 31st. Uh I got my rental car. I um came to the hospital with my oldest son. And as soon as I got there, it was it was really really ominous behavior uh from the start. Uh I noticed, I noticed early on that like nothing seemed to be uh nothing was really being done for him. Um we get in there, he's really, really swollen everywhere because of all the broken bones and injuries. Um I stayed with him from that night after that 28-hour flight. I stayed at the hospital with him from 12 midnight to 9.30 the next morning because as soon as I got in, the neurosurgeon wasn't even there. As soon as I got in there, the nurse informed me they were gonna do the tests to determine if he was brain dead uh that morning at 7:30. And I'm like, holy crap! And I even talked to her, I was like, Why are they doing this? You know, he just got here, he needs time to recover, you know, he needs time to wake up. Uh they had drilled a hole in his head to relieve the pressure. When I talked to the nurse, she was like, Well, the pressure's not being relieved. And I'm like, What are you guys gonna do next? And she's like, nothing. She's like, Well, we're just gonna see what happens.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Was he he was in he was unhe was he in a coma? Was that what at that point was he or unconscious? I I don't know a lot about he was unconscious.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Um, you know, he was on the respirator, they had put him on a respirator. Okay. Um, you know, so that was breathing for him. You know, when I whenever I held his hand, you know, it would twitch and everything. Um for my own sanity, I'm not gonna read into that too much, but sure, you know, I I sat there with him that entire night, uh, dreading that test in the morning. Uh, I was the only one there because my son had gotten a ride to the uh hotel and he stayed at the hotel. And I I ended up staying there the whole night dreading that test. Uh the next morning, the neurosurgeon came in. You know, he pretty much gave me the same song and dance he gave my uh ex, only he was much, much nicer. He was like, Well, if if he's brain dead, we're gonna have to call it, but we don't want to do that. And I'm like, why don't you give him some time? You know, and and he would never give me a clear answer on that. So uh the morning came and went, they didn't do the test. Uh then they told us they were gonna do it at 7:30 that night. So I was exhausted by that point.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

Um, because you just come in from the flight and you'd been there all night.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Jet lag. Sure. And they wouldn't let you, you weren't allowed to sleep in the room with with the patient, you know. So I'm in there and you know, the nurse would come in and everything. Um, and I was fine. I was fine because my focus was on my child. Um I went to the hotel that morning, uh, got there about 10, and I stayed there till about 3:45. Uh basically took a shower and went back to the uh hospital by 5 because I wanted to be there, of course, for the test. Uh that test didn't happen. And again, they they kind of that test the first test, they said he had a little mucus on his uh lungs, so they didn't want to test them. The second time, when I arrived that night, he was packed with ice. They had ice all around his body, and they were like, Well, his temperature's spiking, which I was like, what are you guys giving him, you know, for the pain or anything? And the lady was like, Nothing. And I'm like, What? You know, and I'm like, I've broken an arm before and it's excruciating. I hope he wasn't in there because I can only imagine the pain he was going through. But I sat there and I held his hand. They canceled that night. Uh, they told us to, you know, they were gonna do it the next morning at 7:30. Uh, that first time did they tell you why they were delaying it?

SPEAKER_03 18:50

Did they say why?

SPEAKER_02 18:51

They they they said it was because of the the first time they said they had some mucus on his lungs, right? They had to go in and clean that out. Uh, and I guess they couldn't do the test after that. Uh, the second time they it and and he had a fever that night because when I came in, like I said, it was ice packed around him. When I came back the same day at five, there was ice packed around him because his body wasn't regulating it anymore. You know, he was a lot of injuries. So uh they told us they wouldn't do it again. They told me on the second at 7 30 they were gonna do it. So uh on the first that night, I stayed from 5 to 11:30 only because I had to go get something to eat. I hadn't eaten the whole time. Um, I went and got something to eat. I came back that morning at 7 a.m. Uh and again, they canceled that. Uh the rest of the family got in there about 9:30 because they were exhausted. They were supposed to be there by 7:30, but nobody made it. So I was the only one there. Uh when they when they showed up, I told them, hey, they canceled it. Uh the doctors came in and told them they canceled it. Uh we were only allowed to have one person in the room at a time. So when the family came in the second day uh that I was there, I let them cycle through and everything. Uh when they got done, everyone went back to the hotel uh except for me. I stayed because that's what I do. Uh I just held his hand, I talked to him. Uh, I begged him to wake up. I was so nervous because you know, this test has been looming over my head since I got there. Uh the whole family, everybody went home by like maybe like 2 30. So around 5 30, I'm sitting there and I'm holding his hand, I'm talking to him, and my phone rings and it's my ex. And she said, Did they tell you? And I'm like, Tell me what? Uh she said they're gonna do the test within the hour. And I'm like, what? I'm like right here. No one told me anything. So uh she said, Hey, I'm on my way, I'm getting everybody ready, I'll be there. And I'm like, okay. So when the nurse came in, I'm like, what's going on? And she's like, Oh, the doctor decided to do the test tonight at uh 7 uh 7. I'm like, okay, so the whole family got there. Uh they allowed us all to come in to watch the test. Uh from the first to the second, every two hours the nurse would come in and do like just little, little tests. Like she might uh pinch his fingernails, pinch his toes to see if there was color returning, uh, check his eyes for dilation, uh, check his gag reflex because they had a tube down his throat and they would like kind of push it down or push it up to one to see if he would like gasp or like you know, cough.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Uh and when the doctor came in, you know, he brought his team of nurses and everything in, and they started doing these first rudimentary tests. Uh, they had explained it to us that, hey, we're gonna do these tests. Uh, we will do a um a breathing test where we give them 100% oxygen for like five or ten minutes, and then we turn it off for four minutes. So they did all these rudimentary tests first. Uh they even sprayed cold water in his ears, and they they said they were looking for eye motion or something. So we're all we're all standing around, and I'm I'm praying. Just hoping something, hoping something please brings him some awareness. Yep. Exactly. So none of that they said none of that, they saw anything. So then they did the breathing test and they turned off the oxygen. And when I say that was the longest, like three and a half minutes of my life, it was the longest three and a half minutes of my life. Um, the doctor, the neurosurgeon, at three minutes and like 30 seconds goes, huh, this test is inconclusive. And we're all looking at each other like, okay, uh he turns around to us and he says, Well, what we're gonna do, they turn the oxygen back on and everything. What we're gonna do is we're gonna do the brain test. And what the brain test is, we're gonna inject something like I guess nanobytes or I don't know what it was, but they're gonna inject something in this uh bloodstream at the base of his neck and see where it goes in his brain to see if he's getting proper blood flow. And he told us, he said, I'm gonna go look over this stuff, I'll be right back. Uh we're gonna take him to nuclear science. You're not allowed to go in there with him, uh, and we're gonna do this test, uh, this final test. And we're like, okay, so three minutes went by, maybe. And the doctor's back in the in the room, and he goes, Well, we're gonna just go ahead and uh we're not gonna do the the final test. We're gonna go ahead and code him braid dead right now. And the whole family, I just remember people, uh, my ex-wife, uh, his fiance was there. Uh, there was like 10 people in there. I'm not sure if I covered that. It was me, uh, my other three sons, my ex-wife, her husband, uh, his niece, I'm sorry, his cousin, and his fiancee. So uh yeah, it was not a change. But anyway, uh, I just remember so many people, even me. I was like, but you just said it was inconclusive. Uh the ex said it. He's like, I know, but we got everything we need. Um, he said, This fits the uh the criteria. Yes, and I was like, what does that mean? You know, uh I pulled him outside. I said, excuse me, Doc, can I talk to you for a moment? Because my ex-wife uh and I both asked him in there, can you please do this test? You know, and I I even mentioned something like this is final, doc. Like, please do this test. And he's like, Well, it fits. He just kept saying it fits the criteria, fits the criteria. So I asked him to step outside and I I asked this man, you know, because he had told me like he was a father. I said, from one father to the next, will you please do this test? And the guy was just like, I'm sorry, I can't. And I'm like, You can, you can do this test, you know. Uh everything's paid for. Why are you not doing this test? Right, it fits the criteria, it fits the criteria. And we went on a like maybe like three solid minutes out there, like, please do this test. I'm like begging this guy, please do this test, do it for me, you know, and he would not do it. So we go back in there and he goes, Well, we're gonna call it. He looked at his watch. Uh, he got a second of from someone else, like 720 or whatever. I'm sure I'm I'm just I'm reeling at this point, and then it got really, really weird. It got really, really weird. You ever been somewhere and you just feel the atmosphere get weird?

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Yeah, you feel you feel the change.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

The nurses started acting kind of funny, and I felt it, and I looked at the doctor and I said, uh, after he had called him brain dead, I said, When do we pull the plug? If if you're not gonna do anything, when do we pull the plug?

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Like take him off oxygen, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:48

Yes, yes. And he looked at me and he said, Uh oh uh we we have to have the chaplain come in here and talk to you first. The chaplain never came in, the chaplain never came in. Okay, uh I go outside for like five minutes and I call my mom and dad and I give them the the bad news. My mom starts crying. Uh I'm just I'm just at a loss. Everyone left the room. I went back in there and I'm holding Keone's hand and I'm praying and I'm begging him, please, Kioni, show me something, please, Keone. Wake up, please. About 20 minutes go by, and I hear a female voice behind me, and I forgot her name or whatever, but this lady comes in and scrubs, um, and she identifies herself as a family advocate. And she said, I am here to guide you through the next steps of uh what's gonna happen with Keoni. Will you please go get the rest of the family? We have a quiet room here. Uh, we're gonna meet in there and we'll talk about the next steps. So I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 28:02

And you're probably thinking at this point, this just means preparing for the funeral or or something along those lines.

SPEAKER_02 28:09

I'm thinking, I'm thinking she's gonna bring me in there and say, we're gonna pull the plug, you know, we're gonna give you a certain amount of time to say goodbye to him.

SPEAKER_03 28:17

Right, right. Um, yep.

Inconclusive Test And Brain Death Call

SPEAKER_02 28:19

And all of that. So I go outside and I get everyone, and everyone was scattered. Everyone was scattered because his fiance just like she just went walking. Yeah, I we it it took us like five minutes to find her, but everyone came back in. Um, they showed us the the private room. We go in there, and there's two ladies. Uh we all sit down on these sofas and stuff, uh, and she starts talking. And she says, again, I'm thinking she's part of the hospital, uh, and she's gonna guide me through this or guide the whole family. She starts talking, and the first thing she says, Well, I could go look on his medical records, but I like to hear from the family what this person was, or you know what I mean? Like, tell me some good things about him. So everyone starts talking, you know, his fiance, his mother. Uh, I think Ivan might have said something, you know, you know, something about him. You know, we're all trying to find something.

SPEAKER_03 29:19

Like everyone's trying to, she's trying to build rapport. That's what that tells me initially.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Yes, yes, but we didn't know this. You know, we're thinking that this lady is on our side and everything.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

So or and you're thinking that she's just being concerned for the family and she's there to be an advocate for you to guide you through the process.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

Yes, okay, okay. So we tell her a couple of funny stories about him and everything, and she laughs and she goes, Wow, he seems like a really great guy. I can see why he chose the gift of life. And we're all dumbstruck. Like, I I'll never forget it. I looked over at my ex, and it was like every horrible thing we ever thought, like, just came rushing back. Uh we looked at her.

SPEAKER_03 30:05

And you would say, and when you say rushing back, this is the story with the ant that you told me about, where they were going to extract her organs, but she ended up. I mean, everyone said no, no, no, that wasn't her desires. And and at that point with the ant, my my understanding is she was not an organ donor, so they couldn't just do it.

SPEAKER_02 30:25

No, they wanted they tried to talk the family.

SPEAKER_03 30:28

They tried to talk you guys into it, but you guys were like, Nope. And she wound up recovering. Gotcha. And she ended up recovering. So now you're thinking, like, your heart just must have dropped in that moment because you just knew, like, wait a second, this is it was it was a mixture of pure unadulterated fear and disbelief.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Yeah, like seriously, it was like it was like someone pulling a gun on you and pointing it at your face, and you don't know why. That's how I remember feeling. And I'm like, I looked at her and I said, There must be some mistake, right? Uh my son is not an organ donor, and she was like, Uh, yes, he is. And I told her, I said, We have his two government documents, his driver's license and his military ID. Yep. Yes. And neither one has organ donor on it. She produces a piece of paper. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 31:27

Literally show that piece of paper to my audience. I'm gonna hit share screen right here. Okay, and I'm gonna go to here we go. Give me one second. No, it's not there. Uh screen, share. Oops. And I apologize, actually. Let me get rid of that. That's not it.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

No worries.

SPEAKER_03 31:50

Stop screen. I'm just gonna bring it in as an image. So give me one second.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

Yes, and I'll talk about it when it comes up.

SPEAKER_03 31:59

Okay, sounds good. There it is. Okay, this is what she produces.

The “Family Advocate” And Donor Claim

SPEAKER_02 32:08

She produces this, and basically, what this has on it as means of uh justifying to say that he did this, it had his name typed on it, it had his address typed on it, and it had his birthday typed on it. Everything that's on his driver's license that she could get right from the hospital there. Uh, I looked at it and the first thing I said was, what is this? Like, this doesn't have a signature, it doesn't have a notary. I'm like, when did he do this? And the funny thing is, when she the first date she gave my my ex-wife, uh would have put him at 16 when supposedly he did it. So we're arguing with her. We're like, there's no way. And and my ex-wife even said, I was there with him when he went to get his driver's permit. He turned down putting the donor on his driver's permit card. So why would he do it now? Uh she's like, well, he did. And I'm like, where? And she's like, I don't know. And I'm like, this makes no sense. I said, you're not gonna harvest my child's organs. This lady looked me right in the face and said, Yes, we are, and I was just blown away. Wow, she was like, We're gonna do it no matter what, because he signed for it. And I'm like, this isn't a signature, you know. I'm like, he was adamantly against it. And at this point, I have my youngest son who's 16. We didn't even know this was, we thought this was gonna be something else. So we have our son in here, and this has turned into a fight for organs. Um if you look on my page, I got so distraught, I actually pulled my phone and started recording. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 34:04

Uh so you you and you made those and you made those posts public. So, what I will do is I will share that link after this call because thank you. You were such a fighter in those conversations. That's what I remember.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

It wasn't right, you know. It's like I'm a I'm a retired military soldier. My son is a soldier. Uh, if he wanted this, he would have put this down and told us about it. If he wanted this, he would have had it on his driver's license. If he wanted this, he would have had it on his military ID.

SPEAKER_03 34:40

You know, um also I should add, I just want to do an aside over to me. I have queried the Michigan Secretary of State office and asked if there is any way to verify that he signed for this and if the family has a way to verify. And I was told there is no legal way to verify that it shouldn't be legal. What he did. Then it exactly. But and and that, but that's the answer that I was given. And I and like I said, I can share those emails with you. They did get back to me, but they said that there is not a process in place to verify uh what what and I was asking generally, not about Keone specifically.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

So so my my question, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. My question is where does this go if they ever decide to just print something out? You know what I mean? If there's no way to verify this, any of us could be organ donors right now.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Right. And there was a Hawaii Department of Motor Vehicles form that was shared by Cheryl Salmon, who Cheryl Salmon is an advocate on this issue who's been helping you and I navigate this process. And I thought it was very interesting on the Hawaii DMV form how there was only a section to click yes on being an organ donor. Like there wasn't a place to put no. And I thought, that's interesting. Why isn't there a place to put yes? I mean, no, rather. Sorry. Why isn't there a place to put no? And that's that's that's confusing, I felt.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

It's it's confusing, and I've since this all happened, uh, I've talked to people who've been victims of this, and I've heard so many stories, deceit, uh, them coming in and begging you for your deceased or brain dead uh family's organs, uh, which I find peculiar because if you if you can come in and beg for someone's organs who's brain dead to their family, but at the same time come in to a family who tells you no, he's not an organ donor, give testimony because it was heartbreaking for me because his second oldest brother was like, I just talked to him, and we were talking about this like a couple months ago, and he was like, There's no way I would ever be an organ donor. Uh his fiancee said the same thing, like, yeah, uh, we serve together because she's also a soldier, we serve together, and he always said that he would never do this. They just didn't.

SPEAKER_03 37:17

And my understanding, I'm gonna pull this back up on full screen. My understanding is that they gave you this form and their story to you at the hospital, and and please correct me if I'm wrong, Eddie, but their story to you at the hospital was that Keone, after he got his driver's license, at some unknown point in time, he went on the DMV website and just randomly decided to be a donor. Is that was that the story that you were told? Like, what was the story you were told at the hospital?

SPEAKER_02 37:53

So so it switched. It switched so many times. I have like five different stories they told me. Uh, the most memorable one was uh, and this was from the first two ladies. One of the ladies, she never said anything. The other lady was the one who did all the talking, but she told the family in there that Keone went online just to register to be an organ donor.

SPEAKER_04 38:20

Right.

SPEAKER_02 38:21

And she couldn't tell us where. And at the time, again, the first time she told us he was 16, uh, when my ex brought that up that there's no way he could give consent at 16, she changed it. And she said, Oh, uh, wait, wait, it was to July of 25. He was still in the AIT.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

That's that's another point. So she's saying on July 2nd of 2025, did she say whether or not he was in person? She just tried to say he logged online. Yep, he did.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

He logged in, uh, an 18-year-old logged in just to become an organ donor.

Disputed Registry Paper And Timeline Shifts

SPEAKER_03 38:57

Uh and I did uh try to ask the uh Secretary of State for Michigan what verifications exist to prove when someone logs in and decides to be an organ donor? Do they send email verification? Do they send a letter in the mail? Do they just mail a sticker? And she said that they all they do is mail a sticker. And I thought that was also strange. And I had some follow-up questions and then they stopped responding to me. So that was unfortunately as far as I could get. And and again, I wasn't, I was talking, I was asking procedure only, because I just wanted to see what the first process or the procedure was. So you're being told this is that you're given this shown this form that I popped up on the screen. It doesn't jive with what everybody in the family knows that you have all talked about. What happens next?

SPEAKER_02 39:53

So we're in there and we're at a deadlock because I'm telling her absolutely they wanted to take his body that night. And I said, Absolutely not. You're you're not taking my son. I said, I don't care who I need to talk to, but you're not taking my son. And she again she said, Well, it's gonna happen, but I'm gonna push this up, my chain of command, and uh we will get back with you tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning. So that was pretty much the end of that. You know, she left. We sat there stunned, you know. Uh the rest of the family went home and I stayed the night with Keone. I I held his hand. Again, I, you know, I can't tell you the damage, the emotional damage this did to all of us. Right. You know, I'm in there holding my son's hand crying. You know, I'm begging him to wake up because these vultures are right outside of his door. You know, they're they're they're just waiting.

SPEAKER_03 40:56

And I will tell you, it was heartbreaking to hear the conversation that you were having with the person and the language that especially that man was using that you talked to. It was it was kind of like public relations on steroids and using all these words that they think sound compassionate when he really sounded like a robot. And and I just thought, where's your humanity, dude? I it was it was hard for me to hear that conversation. And I'm really glad that you got those recordings because you may think the gift of life is this wonderful thing, and there's other people that feel differently. Cheryl educated me on this issue in terms of well, these are drugs now that the new donor has to be on, the new person has to be on for life. Somebody has to support that, and sometimes those organs are rejected. And she also brought up a point about how, because I'm not I don't have a religious issue about it, but she said, Well, what about the fact that there are they aren't looking at other means of saving people because this is the means that that makes money? This is the means that people use, and so it reminds me of like animals for research. Yeah, if there were other ways to do research that were not inhumane, would we choose to do those if animals were not readily available? And I would argue that we would, and I would see this the same way. And so when Cheryl and I had that discussion from an ethical standpoint, it caused me to look at this issue in a different way. So I'm sure those are the same situations, same conversations your family had, Eddie.

SPEAKER_02 42:34

You know, looking back on it, uh, like I said, he was declared brain dead the second day I got there. He it was a total of six days, basically, that he was there. And they had already started trying to do this uh on the 30th, I think. Uh when I look back on it, they did nothing for my son. You know, they came in, they checked his vitals, they the hole they drilled in his head, they had a uh like a laser pointer, and they were like, Well, we have to keep it at this level, but it wasn't draining. And and I asked him, I said, Well, if it's not draining, what are you gonna do next? And the nurse was just like, nothing. And I'm like, that's weird. But at the time, I didn't think he was an organ donor or he was gonna be pegged as an organ donor, so that didn't even cross my mind. I'm like, okay, they know what they're doing, they're gonna do the best for my son, you know, and that's not what happened. When I look back on it, I realized the whole time they knew this organ donation place was there that was gonna come and talk to us. Uh, and they wouldn't tell us. And later on, one of the doc, not a doctor, one of the head nurses, he said, Yeah, uh, they knew they were there, but they couldn't tell you because it's some kind of rule they have. The gift of life have to be the ones to tell you. And I'm like, you know what I mean? So that was peculiar.

SPEAKER_03 44:04

Um and looking back, I I the one thing that I wish that you had had, Eddie, is a lawyer that could have maybe done, I think it's called a preliminary injunction. And please, if we've got some legal egals on the call, uh, we can we can sort this out. But I think I sent you a story that I read after you and I talked. And that's what a family did. They went to a court and they got a judge to issue a stop or a preliminary injunction so that they could further research this issue. Because to your point about that piece of paper, I don't have confidence looking at that piece of paper about what that piece of paper is or what it represents. And so tell me a little bit about as you're fighting this case, I'm sure in your mind you're thinking, shoot, I need I need a lawyer, I need to be represented. So tell me what you tried to do at that point.

SPEAKER_02 45:01

It was horrible. And and you you guys have to understand that during that time, I was getting a lot of because I I'm sending this to people. I'm calling it.

SPEAKER_03 45:13

You're trying to bounce this off your friends and family.

Legal Roadblocks And Institutional Policies

SPEAKER_02 45:15

I I kept them away from my son for three days. I kept them away from him the second, the third, the fourth. Uh, the fifth was the last time I saw my son. Um I came in and I finally lost the the last one with the final boss, which was just a represent a reference.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

That guy, right? That guy you were talking to. Oh god, he was oh like again.

SPEAKER_02 45:43

He told me the same thing. He said, We're going to take his orders.

SPEAKER_03 45:46

He did, he did.

SPEAKER_02 45:49

So uh at that time, I'm reaching out to everyone because I'm still holding my son's hand in the hospital, and for those three days afterwards, I'm on the phone, I'm calling lawyers. Uh, I call the biggest one, Morgan and Morgan. And I'm talking to one of his uh secretaries or uh someone, and she's listening to the story. She's like, Oh my god, this is horrible. You know, the moment I got to the gift of life thing, everything changed in her tone and demeanor. I'm talking to her and I'm telling her about how I'm fighting with these people. And she goes, Hold on one moment. Uh, and she leaves for about five minutes. And I'm just, I got the phone on speaker, I'm waiting. Uh, after about five minutes, she comes back on the line. She goes, Uh, I'm talking to the lawyers right now. We're trying to sort something out. Give me one more minute. I wait another two minutes, and all of a sudden, a recording comes on. Uh, this is Morgan and Morgan. We are unable to take this case now.

SPEAKER_03 46:56

Uh so she didn't even you didn't tell me that part. So she didn't even come back and tell you.

SPEAKER_02 47:03

She it was it was a recording, and then she came on and she after the recording, I said, Oh my god, I was like, what does this mean? And everything. And she's like, Well, we don't handle this kind of thing. Uh, we're sending you a uh a web link uh that could explain why we're not, and nothing on there explained why they wouldn't take it. Um and you know, you should go and look for another lawyer. They didn't give me any references or anything, so I'm just dejected. I'm I hang up with them.

SPEAKER_04 47:36

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

Uh I tried about two other lawyers with the same thing. Now remember, I'm on a time crunch because every day they're trying to take my son. Uh, the the on the second I had that talk with the first representative. Uh rep, sorry, my brain's not working good right now, people. Um representative. The second day, they told me we were gonna talk to the gift of life boss or whatever, and the uh hospital trauma admin. Uh on the second day, I came in again at like 10:30. Um, well, I came in at 10:30, and we sat down with the hospital represent representator and I recorded it. And they mirror what I just told you. The story kept changing. And the administrator even said it on the recording. Like, they told me a totally wrong date, and then they changed it, and then they came back.

SPEAKER_03 48:39

The wrong date of when they said he went on the registry of when he signed up.

SPEAKER_02 48:44

So the the hospital, their their claim was they have nothing to do with this. Uh the the state makes them work with these people. Uh, once they're coded brain dead, they're done. You know what I mean? And and I I told her, I was like, that's kind of like opening the barn uh of the hen house to the foxes, you know, like you're letting them in, but you're saying we have nothing to do with it. Uh, all of this the procedures they were gonna do on them were gonna be at that hospital. So I'm like, you can't tell me you have nothing to do with this if my son is here. Right.

SPEAKER_03 49:21

It's a joint, it's a joint process between the the company that's taking the organs. And I'm still not completely clear, and I don't know if you are about whether or not it's Michigan gift of life that's in LA, that's at Vegas, or if it's some other company that comes in and does.

SPEAKER_02 49:39

I was told that the paper was just to get them in the door to harvest my son. Uh, whoever's there in Vegas, whatever that chapter is, they they were the ones to do it.

SPEAKER_03 49:52

That's the company, whatever company that is.

SPEAKER_02 49:55

Yes. Um, and the second day when we came in, the gift of life, they weren't there. And the the hospital staff said, Well, we didn't want them to be in here, we just wanted to talk to you guys first. So then they were like, I'm still like, I do not want this to happen to my son. Uh, they set another date the next day uh for me to talk to the boss of Gift of Life.

SPEAKER_03 50:21

When you say gift of life, were they saying Michigan gift of life, or were they just saying okay?

SPEAKER_02 50:25

They they were saying gift of life Michigan and everything. Uh so the next day was when I finally lost. But again, I I want people to understand like I want to sue, I want to sue these people. Uh, I want this to get out on social media, and I want to start something like a charity or something, because it was so frustrating to sit there holding my son's hand and trying to find help.

SPEAKER_04 50:55

Right.

SPEAKER_02 50:55

You know, like I, you know, bless everyone's heart.

SPEAKER_03 50:59

You know, people were, hey, you need to go to the military base, you need to do what they're just directing you to all these different things, but there isn't like a there isn't a pathway, a clear pathway of what to do when this happens.

SPEAKER_02 51:14

That's what that's what this needs. They need a like I said, if I could start a charity to where people can call and they we have lawyers on on on hand, we have these injunctions ready. Uh, and educate people on this because that's the big part too.

Ethics, Verification, And System Gaps

SPEAKER_03 51:32

This is making sure everybody knows what your wishes are. And like you say, um, and someone was asking about the heart. Yeah, they were telling, I think my understanding was when I got the query back from the Secretary of State from Michigan, it was if you go on the registry, you know, a standalone moment, they just they mail you a heart, which if you do it while you're getting your driver's license, obviously it's just going to be digitized in there. But I will say, just as an example, this is very anecdotal, but I do not have the heart on my ID card, nor do I have it on my retiree ID card. And after we had this conversation, I went on Mill Connect, which is where like our, it's kind of in the military. I didn't even realize that Mill Connect's still valid even as a retiree. So I went on there, and that's that's where you uh like if you're gonna give away your GI bill to your family, you would transfer it there. It's it's also where you get your ID card uh information. And I saw that there was a whole section there on being an organ donor. Had no idea, and it was not on my ID card. So again, that is a larger question too, a whole separate issue about well, what are the processes and the procedures for the US military and organ donation? What are the processes and procedures for the VA and organ donation? What are the processes? I mean, it just seems like it's this way, this maze. And Cheryl was even saying, like, they're supposed to go off of wherever you made your wishes known most recently. But like you say, since you've had this happen uh to you and your family, you've also heard stories where things didn't go as planned, did they?

SPEAKER_02 53:16

I've I've heard of people like literally, uh, after this story went out on social media, uh, people started contacting me.

SPEAKER_03 53:25

Of course.

SPEAKER_02 53:25

And they're like, hey, they did this to my daughter. Hey, they did this to my husband, you know, and it it was just sad. The some of the stories were like uh they tricked them. They they came in and said, Hey, your daughter was an organ donor. Uh just go ahead and sign us right here, just so we can say that we notified you. And what she was really signing was their permission to take their her daughter's organs. Three months later, she found out her daughter had never been an organ donor. Um, I've heard stories from people where they've come in and begged for their family members' organs, and this is recently. So it is logical to me that if they're not getting enough, that again, like like they even told you, there's no way for them to legally verify that this was you. That this was you.

SPEAKER_03 54:21

So, what make and then somebody said this in the comments like honestly, what yeah, what what is the verification process for somebody to even say that they're I mean, how hard would it be for someone else to show up uh or to go online with your username and your password to the DMV and basically say that you're an organ donor? I mean, these are all like valid questions.

SPEAKER_02 54:46

Why why even go do that? If they can just print this out and say that there's no way to verify it, you know. Uh they they could literally just walk in with a piece of paper like they did us and say, Hey, this is what your son did. And what they're gonna do, even if you have all this other information and all this other evidence, they'll say, Well, this was the last thing that he did. He went online as an 18-year-old and he registered to be an organ donor. When your whole family is in there telling them, No, he didn't, no, he wouldn't, because he's not uh uh he wasn't uh estranged from the family or whatever, right? Right.

SPEAKER_03 55:28

He he wouldn't just go against everything that you and your family talked about. And I think the thing to to just keep in mind is that we we don't know the whole story, and I have to say this just for legal reasons. We don't. I don't have any way to verify what happened in your case with the Michigan DMV. And the other piece that we don't have to verify is we don't have the Mill Connect records of Keone to make sure that it wasn't somehow indicated on his ID card because just because there wasn't a heart on the ID card doesn't mean that it wasn't that way in Mill Connect.

SPEAKER_02 56:06

We don't have the Mill Connect, but I have his commander, and his commander can go and look on this things, and he even testified that it is not on there.

SPEAKER_04 56:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 56:17

So I can I can I can drop his thing. I mean, not here, but but no, no.

SPEAKER_03 56:23

I mean, I'm just what I'm trying to say is like this this is where like a legal representative representative or somebody that could help you. Definitely need someone that could help you navigate this process because this is not a clear process. And I think the other piece that this brings up from an ethical standpoint that we have to talk about is do hospitals do everything they can to preserve life and to keep someone alive if there is no organ donation on the table versus when there is organ donation on the table, is there a chance or is there a possibility that life is premier uh prematurely cut off? And I think that's what this whole issue rides on. And that's a discussion that's worth having. And I think that people need to be aware. People need to be aware that this is happening. One suggestion that you had that I really thought was smart was the video suggestion. Can you talk a little bit about that from an education standpoint?

Practical Safeguards And Final Reflections

SPEAKER_02 57:27

So, what I came up with is people need to go on whatever social media they have and make a public video. Uh, I've already made mine, uh, haven't posted it yet, but I've made it. And what I did, I went on there and I introduced myself, uh put the date, and said, I, Eddie Charles Peoples, refuse to be an organ donor. If I ever decide to become an organ donor, I will replace this video with another video saying that I want to be an organ donor. But if they come up with anything afterwards, this is the video that stands. This is my final wish. I I made it very clear that this is my final wish. My parents already know how I feel uh about this. I don't need to go back and rehash it with them. My family knows how I feel about it. Sure. I am putting this out there because I don't want to become a victim like my son was. And I truly believe my son was a victim. I truly believe, you know, you can just look at the the stats. He wasn't even there long enough for them to even be talking about this kind of stuff. Like, give this soldier a chance, you know.

SPEAKER_03 58:42

Um yeah. Well, I wanna I wanna uh kind of close out the call with sharing some pictures of him. Uh and you can tell me a little bit about uh where you were when this picture, like I we've got this one right here. Oops, this one uh add this one to the stage. So where was this?

SPEAKER_02 59:02

This was uh at a top golf here in Florida. Uh he came home uh for Thanksgiving. Uh one of one of the holidays just last year. It was either Thanksgiving or close to Christmas, and that's me and his older brother, Ikaika, we're at top golf. Uh his other brother was still touring in uh the Philippines, and his younger brother was in Michigan. So um we just went out to top golf and had a good time, and you know.

SPEAKER_03 59:34

Uh then we got another image right here.

SPEAKER_02 59:37

This right here is at the gun range, and this is my best friend who I look at as my brother, uh J. Rod Poole. Uh, and of course, this is Keoni. He was taking some leave and he came down and uh we just went to the range and shot some weapons, and it was a good time.

SPEAKER_03 59:56

Well, Eddie, I want to thank you so much uh for having the courage to share your story and to help educate all of us. I can tell you after this conversation, it has encouraged me to make sure my will is up to date, make sure I get an advanced medical directive, make sure that my organ wishes are not only on my driver's license, but are updated on my uh military ID card with Mill Connect, which I've already done. And then I will also be updating it with the VA. So I think I've covered all my and making a video. I will make a video as well. So I I think what what you're doing is is great to educate people about this. I wish you all the best in finding that legal representation. I hope that by us having this conversation today and sharing your story that it helps in this. Is there anything else you wanted to mention or or share uh before we get off the call?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:51

No parent should have to go through this.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:54

Um parent should lose their child early, but definitely no parent should have to go through this and have people come in and try to take your son or daughter uh against their wishes and yours. Um I hope everyone who sees this shares it.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:17

I hope so too, and I think they will. And I'm I'm very sorry that you and your family had to go through this.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:24

If there's anything more I can do to help, I leave for Michigan tomorrow, and uh he will be buried on the 7th. So people need to be made aware of this because it's nefarious, and it's if they if they can do this to a soldier, they can do it to anyone.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:46

I agree. All right, Keone. I mean, oh god, I'm sorry, Eddie. Sorry, we've just been talking about Keone.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:54

I I do it all the time too.

Remembering Keone And Closing

SPEAKER_03 1:01:56

So yeah, all right. I'm gonna go full screen. I'm gonna meet you backstage and say goodbye. But thank you all for for thank you, thank you so much, Eddie. Thank you all for sticking with us tonight. I know this was a heavy issue, but it's one that needs to be talked about, and you guys know I don't I don't shy away from hard issues. All right, as I always say to close out the calls, please take care of yourselves, please take care of each other. Enjoy the rest of your evening and bye bye.