Losing a child brings unimaginable grief. The decision about whether to donate his organs so another life can be spared would be a tough one. Lukas Clark was just 7 months old when he was critically injured at the hands of his babysitter, leaving him with little hope of survival.
It soon became a reality for his mum, Heather, that little Lukas wasn’t going to make it, so she made the courageous decision to donate his organs. “I didn’t want another family or mother to go through what I was about to or feel the way I was about to,” she said. The boy’s organs helped to save three special lives.
Three years after the tragedy, the young mum received a very special gift. She was able to hear her son’s heart beating in the child he saved. Clark wrote a letter with the help of “One Legacy” in the hopes of connecting with the family. It was revealed that a child named Jordan Drake had received his heart after it was determined she needed a heart transplant.
Her mother, Esther Gonzalez, reached out to Clark via Facebook after she got word that she was looking for her. After corresponding for some time, the friends finally met in person. Clark also met Jordan—and listened to her deceased son’s heart beating in the little girl’s chest.
Clark said of meeting her new family and hearing her baby’s heartbeat, “I think I was more anxious than nervous. Anxious to meet Jordan because she’s absolutely wonderful. I was nervous when I first got out of my car and walked up. So many different emotions in one—happy, sad, depressing, wonderful, proud. If all those words could be molded into one, that’s what it would be.”
The duo are “linked for life” and have decided to make it their mission to bring more awareness to the selfless gift of organ donation and how it can save lives. Truly, an unexpected blessing from such a terrible ordeal.
https://youtu.be/C2Sh6wWY-yk
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