ack in 2011, Vietnam vet Tom Meeks was diagnosed with a rare heart disease called amyloidosis. Doctors told him he wouldn’t survive without a heart transplant and he was put on a long wait list. He and his wife, Ann, spent three years waiting and praying. Then one day in March of 2014, the Meeks got the call they were hoping for.
While the Meeks got the happy news they were waiting for, the Heisler family got devastating news about their 21-year-old son, Matthew Heisler. Mathew, a student at the University of North Dakota, lost his life in a house fire.
When Matthew was 16 years old, he signed up to be an organ donor. This decision not only saved Meeks’ life, but others. His liver went to a 61-year-old man, a 46-year old woman who received one of his kidneys, and 56-year-old woman who received his other kidney.
The Heisler’s met with the Meeks and each family member got to hear Matthew’s heart beating. Watch their reaction.
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