Mother Hears Son's Heart Beating For First Time In Three Years

In June 2003, Terry Hooper of Omaha, Neb. was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood effectively. In April 2005, doctors at Nebraska Medicine discovered Terry's aortic valve was leaking – something that had probably gone undetected since birth. Terry underwent an aortic valve replacement, but his heart was still only functioning at 30 percent. By August 2012, his heart function had declined to five percent and he was placed on the transplant waiting list in October. After being on the list for 52 days, Terry received a heart transplant on December 10, 2012.

At the time, Terry had no idea his donor was 18-year-old Levi Schulz of Horace, North Dakota. Levi was killed in an automobile accident on December 7, 2012. His body was kept on life support so that his organs could save others. Levi was survived by his parents, twin brother and several other siblings.

In the spring of 2013, Terry wrote a letter to his donor family. That May, he received a letter from Levi's mom, Lisa Swanson. Over the years, they wrote letters and emailed back and forth, but have never spoken on the phone or met face to face.

On Friday, April 1, Terry met Levi's mom and twin brother, Shelby, for the first time. The family got to see and hear Levi's heart beating inside Terry's chest. Nebraska Medicine's heart transplant team also gave Levi's mom a special gift in honor of her son.