Jennifer Spurgeon, a graduate of Winamac Community High School, donated her kidneys and liver extending the lives of three people. A floragraph of Jennifer, which is a picture made from organic materials, is part of the Donate Life float in the upcoming parade in Pasadena, Calif. She is one of 60 donors who will be honored.

Mother Rhonda Berger and sister Krista Spurgeon were scheduled to leave for California Tuesday morning from Indianapolis, but discovered their flights had been canceled because of bad weather. The Indiana Donor Network began a social media campaign to find a way to get the two family members to California and Wednesday they got good news.

The Nevada Donor Network learned of their situation. An employee with connections with Southwest Airlines was able to get the two women on flights to California, according to the Indiana Donor Network. The family will leave from Indianapolis Thursday on separate flights, then meet in Pasadena in time to see the parade New Year’s Day.

Berger and daughter Krista were scheduled to attend the parade and events over the past couple of days representing Indiana. Due to the flight rescheduling, they have missed some events, but they say seeing the parade is the important thing.

Since the fire almost seven years ago, Berger has said Jennifer now lives on in others.

“To know that her life didn’t stop that day, that it continued to move forward in the lives of others,” Berger said in a recent interview with WLFI-TV in Lafayette. “I find that very comforting to know that she continues to live out there, and she continues to make a difference.”

Berger said Jennifer decided to donate when she was a teenager.

“It was her choice. When she was 16 years-old, she signed up to get her learners permit to start driving. That’s when she registered to be a donor at that point. So I already knew what her decision was.”

Spurgeon, 19, and two roommates died in January 2009 in a fire in their Fort Wayne apartment. Berger received a call from her daughter who told her of the fire.

"It was that phone call in the middle of the night that no parent ever wants to receive," Berger said at the time.

The girls went into their bathroom window to await rescue from firefighters, but were overcome with smoke inhalation before they could be rescued. The three girls were students at International Business College. Spurgeon was studying to be a veterinary technician.

Both of Spurgeon's kidneys and her liver went to recipients who are alive today because of her donations. Berger has been in touch with all three families of the recipients, who all expressed their gratitude to Jennifer.

Berger, who is a nurse in western Indiana, is now a speaker for the Indiana Donor Network. She said it has helped her work through the loss of her daughter and move on with her life.

Right now in Indiana 1,408 patients are waiting for donations. Nationally the figure is 122,393. In 2014, 507 people received organ transplants as a result of 156 donors in Indiana. The Indiana Donor Network facilitated 872 tissue donations in 2014 and more than 42,500 people had their sight restored last year through cornea transplants.