Grieving mother embraces man who received her daughter's heart: 'Like I got to hug my daughter again'
By Merryn Porter |
W?hen Andre'Ona Rae Williams died in December 2018 from a cardiac arrest brought on by an asthma attack, she left behind her heartbroken mother.
But now four years later, ?Amber Morgan has once again listened to her daughter's beating heart after meeting the man who was the recipient of her organ donation.
Morgan, of the US state of Indiana, ?embraced Tom Johnson, 68, during an emotional meeting in a hotel lobby last week after she travelled to his home state of Illinois to meet him.
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The meeting had been organised by the Indiana Donor Network, which posted photos of the emotional moment the two embraced on its Facebook page.?
"Four years after 20-year-old Andre'Ona Williams' death, her mother, Amber Morgan, heard her daughter's heartbeat again," it said in an accompanying post.
"68-year-old Tom Johnson received Williams' heart in 2018 and last week, he and Morgan met for the first time."
Indiana Donor Network quoted Morgan as saying, "It's almost like I got to hug my daughter again."
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Moments after meeting, Morgan used a stethoscope to listen to her daughter's heart beating inside Johnson's chest.
News outlets shared a video taken of the moment the two embraced.
Morgan first tearfully hugs Johnson, who in turn touches the head of Morgan's granddaughter. She then turns to embrace Johnson's wife, who can be heard describing her husband's new heart as a 'gift'.
According to a report on TODAY Parents overnight, Johnson had suffered a heart condition since childhood. As an adult, he suffered congestive heart failure and was placed on a transplant waiting list in 2017.
Meanwhile, Morgan said her daughter was "severely allergic to almost everything" and she would have "kept her in a bubble if I could."
She learned after her daughter's cardiac arrest that she was registered organ donor. "That made me a proud mama. She had a heart of gold."?
Johnson received his lifesaving phone call on December 18, 2018, and underwent his transplant the next day.
He suffered complications during his recovery and remained in hospital for months before gradually recovering. That is when he wondered about the person who saved his life.
Through Indiana Donor Network and the hospital where he underwent his transplant, he was able to send a letter to his donor's mother.
"Many donor families say that contact with one another helps them to know someone is living on because of their loved one," a spokesperson from the Indiana Donor Network told TODAY.com.
"It is important for them to know that the recipient is doing well and taking care of the organ they received. It gives donor families a sense of legacy and that their loved one is not forgotten."
In the letter, he thanked Morgan and described his joy at being able to play soccer with his grandchildren.
Morgan described the letter as 'beautiful' and wanted to meet him, but didn't feel like it was the right time. Then, COVID hit and Morgan suffered a heart attack.
She finally decided to stop putting it off and arranged the meeting at a Chicago hotel.
"It felt like our hearts connected," Johnson said, while Morgan said, "For a second, it felt like I was hugging Andre'Ona again."
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