We are familiar with movie or book plots that say there is some part of us somewhere – like a piece meant to make us whole. Soulmates, if we call them. Of course, these are all fictitious, something we weave into stories to add magic to the story.
But what if I’ll tell you this is possible in real life? Yes, it could be, especially when we talk about organ donation. Literally, that is a part of you or your loved one in someone else’s body.
Nicholas’s Heart
Maria Clark lost her son, Nicholas Peters, to a fatal car accident last 2020. He was only 25 years old.
She found out that her son wanted to donate his organs, and she instantly knew she was okay with this. She consoled the rest of her children, telling them this was what their brother wanted.
“We can’t bury all this magic; we have to share it,” she told GMA about her conversation with her kids.
Jean Paul’s Second Chance
Jean Paul Marceaux was only two years old when he developed cardiomyopathy due to heart failure. He got his heart transplant back then, but Candace, John Paul’s mother, knew that there was a high chance he would need a second transplant in the future.
Since then, she had Jean Paul checked now and then to make sure his heart was still in good condition. She also kept on the lookout for possible heart donors should they need one.
In September 2020, they received a call that a heart became available for her son. It was Nicholas’s heart.
Why is there a need for another heart transplant?
Heart transplants survive at an average of 12.5 years. Recent medical advancements and studies have made it possible for a heart transplant to last for decades. The longest record of a heart transplant survival was 29 years and five months.
While beneficiaries would want heart (or other organs) transplants to last longer, their longevity would depend on pre-existing or recurring conditions. There is also the natural wear of an organ or its surrounding tissues, depending on the individual’s health.
Two families, one heart
A year after Jean Paul’s successful heart transplant, Maria reached out to Candace, and both mothers agreed to meet.
Maria held out a stethoscope and listened to Jean Paul’s heart beating, knowing that the heart inside of him was Nicholas’s. She heard it beating strong and was amazed at how he could listen to and feel her son in this boy’s body.
He hugged Jean Paul while Candace watched the heartwarming moment beside them. Watch the full video below.
Still beating on
Maria was amazed at how the whole thing worked. It was like her a piece of her son was in this boy’s body; the end of her son’s life gave another mother’s son a second life.
“He (Nicholas) would be moved by knowing that his organs and tissues are giving life to new families. I’m just glad to know that that heart is still beating on and giving him (Jean Paul) life, energy, and more passion,” Maria said in GMA’s interview.
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