One Friday afternoon, Kathleen Baldwin recounted memories about her willful, yet, comedic grandson, Demetrias “Dewey” E. Waters. He was born on November 26, 2005. His life ended on April 20, 2024, due to a car accident.
“He suffered from a catastrophic head injury and was declared brain dead two days after the accident,” said Baldwin, a Towson resident.
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Waters was raised by his grandparents, who were his legal guardians, along with two of his siblings. Edward Baldwin, Kathleen’s husband, also received the crushing news that their grandson had been driving on the inner loop of the beltway with three friends in the car, when their excursion went terribly wrong. He was driving at a very high rate of speed and attempted to avoid the 795 exit that he did not want to take.
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}}“The car flipped. He was ejected because he was not wearing his seatbelt and he flew into another oncoming car,” Waters’ grandmother explained.
Other passengers who had also been ejected from the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Eighteen-year-old Waters was the most critically injured. Before the accident, he had been working at an organic grocery store, searching for another job.
“He was really struggling. COVID really seemed to have had quite an effect on him, but he had definite goals,” said Kathleen. “His plan was to enroll at CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) to get his GED. He had to wait until he was 18 to be able to do that.”
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 90px;}}He was very athletic and was on a soccer team for years. In a turn of events, state policemen showed up at the Baldwin’s door. Waters was identified after a picture was shown to his grandmother. He was still alive at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems in Shock Trauma. Waters was already in neurosurgery when his family arrived. A doctor and a nurse from the trauma resuscitation unit spoke to his grandmother.
“It was pretty obvious that his head injury was catastrophic,” Kathleen explained.
Waters’ surgery did not have the outcome everyone had hoped it would. Approximately 22 hours after the accident, his brain was herniating, which led to complete brain death.
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-3{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-3{min-height: 90px;}}Kathleen added, “We had to wait another 24 hours for that to be confirmed with testing that there was no longer circulation to his brain, but as soon as they confirmed it, that’s when we turned and they had the discussion [about organ donation]. His mother was included. We sat down with neuro-trauma ICU staff and discussed options.”
L-r: Demetrias (“Dewey”) E. Waters, Emily Baldwin holding Raymond Waters, and A’moni Waters. Demetrias was the driver in a car accident in 2024. He suffered from a catastrophic head injury and was declared brain dead two days after the accident. The young hero’s kidneys, pancreas, heart and liver were donated to organ recipients in need.Waters’ family decided that organ donation was an option. Infinite Legacy— the nonprofit organ procurement organization (OPO) that facilitates organ, eye and tissue donation in Maryland and the Metro DC area was contacted. Then, Kathleen and her family discovered a surprise.“They found him [“Dewey”] in the database. He had checked off the box for organ donation when he got his license. The day he got his license, he was filling out the forms, and asked my husband, his grandfather, what does this organ donation box mean? My husband explained it to him. And Dewey said, ‘Well, what should I do? Should I check it?’ And my husband said to him, ‘I can’t make that decision for you. You have to make that decision all on your own.’”
Although the family was distraught over Waters, they knew that several of his organs would be able to be donated to other people.
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-4{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-4{min-height: 90px;}}“That’s the only thing that brings you any source of comfort,” said Kathleen.
She added, “One recipient received the pancreas, and a kidney, which means that person probably had diabetes. That would be a cure for their diabetes. They called me and told me his heart went to a 21-year-old boy. Someone received his liver. The last individual received the other kidney.”
Baldwin advises people who have not checked the box to donate their organs to become more educated about it and read stories written by people who have received transplants.
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-5{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-5{min-height: 90px;}}Sixteen-year-old A’moni Waters, the Baldwins’ granddaughter and Demetrias Waters’ sister, reflected on her brother and the impact he made to give the gift of life to other individuals in need.
“Whenever I was struggling with anything, my brother always knew what to do,” A’moni stated. “He could make the worst days feel a little easier without even trying.”
Although losing her big brother has been the hardest thing she has ever endured, knowing that he saved and helped others brings her a kind of peace that she did not expect.
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Please visit Donate Life Maryland viahttps://www.donatelifemaryland.orgto learn more about organ, eye and tissue donation.
