‘Abbey is alive inside of him’: Grieving father hears his dead daughter's heartbeat inside chest of the man who received her organ

June 24, 2017  15:55

This is the heart-wrenching moment a grieving father hears his late daughter's heart beating inside the chest of another person.

Bill Conner cycled an astonishing 1,400 miles from his home in Wisconsin, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the meeting on Father's Day. 

Mr Conner was filmed crying as he used a stethoscope to listen to the heartbeat of his daughter Abbey inside another person's chest.

The organ was donated to Loumonth Jack Jr, who had been told that he had just 10 days to live after suffering a heart attack. 

Mr Conner told CBS News:  'Knowing he's alive because of Abbey, Abbey is alive inside of him - it's her heart having him stand up straight.'

The grieving father decided to embark on a mammoth 2,600 mile bike ride to visit the Broward Health Medical Center - the hospital where Abbey's organs were recovered in January. 

Abbey, who was just 20, had died five months earlier when she and her brother were found unconscious and face down in a resort pool over winter break in Cancun, Mexico. 

Abbey Conner was found floating unconscious in a pool in Mexico. Despite emergency treatment, the 20-year-old died. 

Abbey is pictured centre with her father Bill Conner to the left and her brother Austin to the right

By the time they were discovered Abbey had suffered irreversible brain damage.

She was kept on life-support for a number of days until doctors were able to harvest her organs.  

Abbey had donated four organs which meant four men, aged 20 to 60, were able to live.

When Mr Conner told the Florida donation centre about his plans to ride on her behalf, letters were sent to recipients of Abbey's organs - asking whether they would be interested in meeting her father. 

'The only person who has responded at this point is Jack Jr., the heart recipient', said Mr Conner. 

The pair arranged to meet 1,400 miles into Mr Conner's trip, at Baton Rouge on Father's Day. 

They shared a minute-long hug, and Mr Jack retrieved a stethoscope so Mr Conner could hear his daughter's heartbeat for the first time since she died.

Surrounded by My Jack's friends and family, both men began to tear up.

After listening to the heartbeat for some time, Mr Conner jokes: 'Well, it's working!'

Before he continued on his 2,600 mile journey, he added: 'She's alive. Jack's alive and she's alive. It's her heart.

'This isn't about me. This is about Abbey and helping other people in need.'

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