The Story of Abram Sitcer
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Image Description: Abram Sitcer with his hands spread out diagonally smiling at the camera.
The Story of Abram Sitcer
A Donor Family Story
Abram was a funny, kind, and joyful child. At 12 years old, he was a boy scout who befriended everyone and dreamed of what his future would look like. Abram wanted to join the Coast Guard. His father was a career soldier, but Abram loved the water. Abram imagined having his own restaurant where people who didn’t have food could come in and ask for “Chef Abram.” He dreamed of what his first job would be and eventually being able to buy his mother her dream car.

He was exceptionally generous. Once when he lost a tooth, he asked his mom to take his tooth fairy money and buy herself a cherry coke. He told her that money doesn’t make you happy, but he wanted to do anything he could to make others smile.
Image Description: Abram Sitcer standing in the parking lot in his Boy Scout uniform.
When Abram passed away in 2019, the decision for his mother to have him become a donor was an easy one. “When Abram died, after the nurse, doctor, and chaplain left the room and even before I was able to see him, I had to go find the receptionist because I wanted him to be a donor. My son loved seeing and experiencing everything he could and would want others to see and experience all they could. It wasn’t even a discussion,” said Abram’s mother, Amanda.

Losing someone you love is tragic, particularly someone so young with such a passion for life. Though we wish Abram was still here, we are grateful to his family for choosing donation. Because of Amanda’s choice, Abram was able to restore sight to two people in the United States, including a 14-year-old.

Recently, someone in Amanda’s family was diagnosed with an eye disease that will eventually lead to a corneal transplant. Her own father was put on the organ waiting list. He told her that he felt that it was tragic to have to wait for someone to pass away to get his lifesaving gift. Amanda framed it differently for him, “you [just] have to wait for somebody’s family to say ‘yes’ to donation.”

Thank you to Amanda, for sharing her son, Abram’s story with us. We are so proud to have been able to steward his gift of sight.

Abram’s family has set up a Facebook page called Abram Rocks: Abram’s Park where people can share photos of rocks that had been painted and hidden around the park named in his honor: https://www.facebook.com/groups/456797368954175/?ref=share
For more stories like Abram's, like us on Facebook.
Are you interested in telling your story? Send an email to James at jrosa@lionseyeinstitute.org.
Do you want to support cornea transplants made possible by people like Abram? Make a gift to support the Lions Eye Institute Foundation.
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