Thinking she’d never hear the comforting sound of his ticking heart, the 25-year-old got the chance to listen to her little boy live on in someone else.
Heather tragically lost her little boy, Lukas in 2013 and decided to donate his organs.
“The sound was so strong,” Heather remarked to People about the four-year-old girl who received his heart.
“I could feel him there with me. He is continuing on through her, no doubt.”
Heather was introduced to Lukas’ heart transplant recipient Jordan Drake, and her mum Esther Gonzalez. Esther wanted to give the grieving mother a chance to listen to her son’s heartbeat one more time.
After the loss of her baby Lukas, Heather decided to donate his organs. Young Jordan was the receiver of his heart.
“I’m not going to say anything. I’m just going to hug her,” Ester told KTLA News before the meeting. “I think I have run out of words at this point.”
It was exactly what Lukas’ mum needed.
“In that moment, it was just me and him, we had been on this long journey together and we both knew this was the end point,” Heather admitted. “He’s gone, but he will keep living through Jordan forever.”
After Heather’s 7-month-old son died suddenly, in her moment of grief, she made the brave decision to donate Lukas’ organs. She remembers what she thought.
Baby Jordan went through countless surgeries until she got Lukas’ heart. Heather said, “Today I have been in contact with a beautiful family. This beauty is the girl who has Lukas heart beating in her. One day I will meet her and squeeze her so tightly! Thank you to her mom and dad who allow me to be a part of their lives. This is the best Christmas present I could have asked for.”
“There is another family out there, somewhere, you know who’s feeling something of what I’m feeling, somewhat, and I have the chance to make them not go through what I’m about to go through,” she recalled.
Going through the same heartache was Jordan’s mum. Living in Arizona, her 18-month old daughter was fighting for her life because of a congenital heart defect. After countless surgeries and seizures, Jordan needed a new heart to survive. Thanks to Lukas, Jordan is a vibrant little four-year-old.
Since the donation was made anonymously, the two mothers searched until they found each other online.
Their bond was instant and Ester knew she had to give Heather something back.
Heather was overwhelmed when she heard her son’s heart in Jordan.
During the emotional meeting, Heather was gifted a stuffed toy with an audio recording of Lukas’ heart beats.
Knowing she made the right decision to donate, the 25-year-old said, “Lukas has given Jordan this chance at life and I know he is looking down, wishing her the best and telling her to live her life to the fullest.”
Around 1600 people are currently on Australian organ transplant waiting lists.
To find out how you can save a life through organ, eye and tissue donation visit Australian Organ Donor Register
