"Two families became one today and in a really beautiful way and I'm just grateful for that," said Honnell about meeting Beaird.
Jessica Honnell's husband, Wes Honnell, lost his life from a traumatic brain injury after a car accident last year in September. The accident changed the life of the Honnell family forever, reported 11Alive.
"He was the love of my life [and] the most precious gift that God has ever given to me," Honnell said, remembering her late husband.
Even while grappling with the grief of losing her husband, she had to make some tough choices. One of them was the decision to donate her husband's organs. She went ahead with her decision and donated his organs, tissues, and heart with the motive of continuing his legacy.
Honnell's good deed helped save the life of David Beaird who was the recipient of Wes's heart. Beaird suffered for four years due to a congestive heart condition which eventually worsened and needed an emergency heart transplant. "On a good day, I might be able to walk 10 [or] 15 feet where I'd have to stop and rest for a couple of minutes," he said. His cardiologist startled him by saying he had six months to live if he didn't get the transplant.
Beaird's attempts in finding a donor failed the first time, but soon he found a donor that matched with him. And the heart belonged to none other than Wes Honnell. "You cannot express enough gratitude," Beaird said, welled up with emotions. "Like I said, she gave me a new leaf in life."
On Saturday, Honnell and family members met the man who carried a vital part of their beloved Wes. Much to their surprise, it just so happened to be Honnell's birthday as well.
Everyone's eyes were filled with unshed tears on the day Honnell met Beaird. Seeing Honnell remember her late husband, the heartwarming moment touched everyone's heart. Her only wish for her birthday was to hear her husband's heartbeat again.
"I had many nights of laying my head on my husband's chest and hearing his heartbeat, so even though he's in heaven, now it felt very familiar and a safe place," she said.
Although this might not bring her husband back, Honnell was delighted to see that Beaird got another chance to continue living his life. She was glad to have honored Wes by saving Beaird's life.
With a new heart, Beaird has made improvement. He's able to do things he loves like fishing and exercising without getting tired often, and soon, he will be walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding. These milestones in Beaird's life were possible because of Honnell's brave decision of organ donation and the doctors at ARORA who helped Beaird find a matching donor.
ARORA is an organ and tissue donation bank in Arkansas. The staff at the bank also helped the Honnell family through the process which eased the efforts for both the families.
"Two families became one today and in a really beautiful way and I'm just grateful for that," said Honnell about meeting Beaird.
Each day, 17 people die waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and a new name is added to the transplant waiting list every nine minutes. Currently, there are more than 100,000 people waiting for a second chance, according to Life Source Organization.
As per reports, one person who chooses to donate organs can save up to eight lives, heal more than 75 lives through tissue donation, restore sight for up to two lives through eye donations, and heal up to 10 individuals through ocular tissue donation.
References:
https://www.life-source.org/latest/fast-facts/
Cover Image Credit: Getty Images| manusapon kasosod
