Unbreakable bond: Mother of organ donor meets man who received her daughter's heart

CHCIAGO (WLS) -- An incredible reunion in Chicago brought together the mother of an organ donor and the organ recipient.

Now, these people who were strangers have an unbreakable bond.

As soon as Amber Morgan and Tom Johnson were face to face, the hugs began.

Morgan's daughter Andreona Williams was 20 years old when she died in 2018 from asthma complications.

Saturday, Morgan got to meet the man who received her daughter's heart.

Williams' family donated her organs, saving three lives, including Johnson, who was suffering with congestive heart failure after being diagnosed with cardiomyopathy as a child.

Johnson was on the transplant waiting list for 18 months before receiving WIlliams' heart at Chicago's Loyola University Medical Center, according to Indiana Donor Network.

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Morgan did not waste a moment to put a stethoscope to Johnson's chest, as she was able to listen to her daughter's heart beating again.

Tears of happiness quickly followed.

"As a mother, you listen to the heartbeat when you're carrying the child, and when my daughter was on life support, I asked to hear the heart because I knew it would be the last time," Morgan said.

"I feel so blessed because I've been praying for the family ever since my transplant," Johnson said.

Johnson and his wife Sharon traveled from their home in Kankakee to meet Morgan and to tell her that with Williams' heart, he's the healthiest he's ever been.

When we took stairs anywhere, we'd have to stop. He'd only be able to take a flight and we'd have to quit," Sharon said.

"I walk a lot. I walk a treadmill, I ride a bike when the weather is good -- about 15 miles a day. I was never able to do that as a child, Johnson said.

Four years into his second chance at life, Johnson, who is a retired nurse, respiratory therapist and healthcare IT manager, has celebrated 45 years of marriage and many holidays with family. Johnson has attended countless grandchildren's baseball games and dance recitals.

"Today, I can play with my five grandkids, something I wasn't able to do before," he said.

Johnson first wrote to Morgan around Chritsmas in 2019, thanking her and her family for making their donation decision.

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He also sent a second letter but didn't hear back from Williams' family until last week.

That's when Morgan responded with an idea. For her son's 16th birthday, she wanted to surprise him with an in-person meeting with Johnson, which is an extremely rare event between an organ transplant recipient and a donor family, the organization said.

Because of Johnson's recovery and the pandemic, it took four years for Morgan and Johnson to meet. The Johnsons assured Morgan that they are taking great care of her daughter's heart.