Bride walked down the aisle by man who received her father’s heart

Ten years ago, when she was 23 years old, Jeni Stepien lost her father. Michael Stepien was killed in a robbery in 2006 and, after 24 hours on life support, the family accepted the tragedy and donated his organs.

At that time, New Jersey resident Arthur Thomas had been waiting for a heart for ten years. He had been told if he did not receive a transplant in the next few days, he would die. He received Michael’s heart within the next 48 hours.

The following Christmas, Arthur or “Tom” sent the Stepiens a thank you card. In the years following, letters turned into phone calls and the families cultivated a special bond. When Jeni started planning her wedding and questioning who would walk her down the aisle, her fiancé had a wonderful idea that couldn’t seem more perfect.

 “My fiancé suggested I write him a letter; that way Tom would feel in no way obligated or pressured by my request” she told the Huffington Post.

A few days after sending the letter she got a phone call, she said. Tom’s answer was yes. He would walk her down the aisle.

Jeni Stepien was unable to hold back tears when she embraced him for the first time and felt her father’s heart beating inside him.

“Meeting Tom was so incredible!” she said. “He is such a gracious and kind-hearted man. You could tell he was so thankful for his life, and that radiated from him.”

In sharing her story, Stepien said she hopes it send a very important message to others: Organ donations save lives.

“Organ donation can provide an opportunity for a second chance at life. It is an exceptional gift, one that is selfless and generous, and always appreciated by the recipient,” she said. “We were able to see how wonderfully Tom was progressing all of these years, simply thriving, and [that] in turn, helped us with our own grief.”

Are you thinking about becoming an organ donor? Let us know in the comments below. 

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