I received an awesome email the other day.  It was from Damon, the 1,000^th heart recipient in Utah.  The email contained some pictures as attachments and simply read, “We were at our stand at the Park City farmers market 2 weeks ago and you’ll never guess who we ran into?”

I opened the first attachment and saw Damon standing next to a man in a large hat with his face mostly shaded.  I thought, “You’re right.  I will never guess who you ran into!”

I opened the next picture and in this picture both men had their wives standing next to them and the man in the hat’s face was more visible.  “Oh my gosh,” I thought.  “He ran into Greg.”  Greg had gone into heart failure in late April and was put on a full artificial heart on May 1.  After spending four months living in the hospital, Greg received a heart transplant about 6 weeks ago.

I hadn’t seen Greg since his transplant.  He looked so healthy and happy.  His wife also had a huge smile on her face.  Damon and Greg met each other at a press conference on July 1.  Now, a few months later, they actually recognized each other.   I hope organ donors and their families truly understand what an incredible difference their act of love and kindness mean to the recipient and their families.

Tags: 1000th heart recipient, Damon, donor registry, farmers market, Greg, heart transplant, organ, organ donation, transplant

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