DURHAM, N.C. – Tears of joy Monday as the Jeffries family was able to meet the family whose daughter provided the heart that now beats in their son Albert.
“I felt sad meeting the people who gave me a second chance,” said Albert Jeffries, or Al J
Katelyn Zimmerman decided to be an organ donor three hours before she died. She was riding her bike in Florida with her brother in March when she was hit by a vehicle.
The families met for the first time Monday at the Carolina Donor Services in Durham and released balloons and butterflies in Katelyn’s memory.
“Words are not enough. So grateful to meet the people who donated the heart,” said Al J’s mother, Tina Turner.
Katelyn’s father, Shawn, was able to hear his daughter’s heart in Al J.
“It put us at peace knowing the heart is still beating,” he said.
Al J was diasnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy as a 3-month-old and waiting 13 years for a heart.
In March, he learned he would receive a heart that the Jeffries would later learned came from Katelyn.
Al J finally returned home April 7, after spending 127 days in the hospital.
