Losing a family member is hard. It is even more heartbreaking for the parent whose child was taken too soon. (We can’t even begin to imagine.)
Mississippi mom April Beaver lost her son, Caleb, suddenly last Christmas. The 16-year-old suffered two strokes as a result of a congenital circulatory malformation – a birth defect that causes an abnormal connection between veins and arteries.
The grieving mom says she prayed for a way to feel close to her son again. “I was talking to God and crying out and I asked God to let me have a dream or something,” she told WLOX-TV.
She was later contacted by Charles Shelton, a Kentucky man who received Caleb’s heart through organ donation on December 26. The two families met for the first time last Thursday.
Watch the video below as April listens to her son’s heart beat. (Spoiler: You’ll probably cry. We sure did.)
And check out these five facts about organ donation:
Anyone can sign up to be a donor, regardless of age or medical history.
Organs and tissues from a single donor can help up to 50 people.
Every 10 minutes a new name is added to the national transplant waiting list.
Over 100,000 Americans are currently on the list.
18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant.
