Your wedding day is one of the most beautiful and meaningful days of your life. You honor and commit the love you have for your soulmate. You celebrate this love with all of your chosen friends and family. One bride, Katy, would exhibit the love she had for her groom, Derick, by also honoring the love he has for his late brother.
When Derick was 12 years old he lost his brother, Jake, when he was fatally struck by a car. Jake was only 13 at the time. Derick’s family made the decision to donate Jake’s organs. Derick and his family never received the names or any information about the people that received Jake’s organs.
Years later, Jake’s fiancé, Katy, stepped in to try and give Derick the greatest wedding gift she could give. Katy wanted to find the donor recipient that received Jake’s heart and bring him or her as a surprise guest to their wedding. First, Katy wanted permission from Jake’s mother because she knew it was a sensitive area in their life.
According to Katy, Derick’s mother, “cried and she was really happy and she said, ‘Absolutely, I think this will be a great idea.’”
With the help and permission from Derick’s mother, Katy started her search. The search would last for over a year, but in the end, she was able to find the recipient of Jake’s heart. His heart had been given to Gracie Wilkinson. Gracie was only 6 years old at the time of her transplant. Katy had eventually located Gracie through Facebook and sent her a message.
Gracie responded within minutes, telling Katy, “‘Absolutely, I would love to be there, just tell me when and where and I will be there.’”
Katy was able to keep her gift a surprise until the day of the wedding. Fonash Studios was able to record the moment Katy told Derick about his surprise gift, along with Derick and Gracie meeting right after. Derick broke down in tears when Gracie Wilkinson walked toward to meet him. The first interaction between Derick and Gracie was a long-awaited hug.
Derick told Gracie, through his tears, how happy he was that his brother was able to help her. Katy, crying herself, watched her gift be so welcomingly received. To make the moment even more special, Gracie let Derick listen to her brother’s heartbeat.
Gracie did not come empty-handed to the wedding, as she brought her own meaningful gift for Derick. A keychain that held the image of his brother’s heartbeat from an EKG, so he could always have his brother’s heart.
Following the wedding, Derick was able to say that hearing his brother’s heartbeat, “was a flood of different emotions … There’s not a word to describe it. She gave me the gift of closure.”
The day was not only special for Derick, the day was special for Gracie as well. Gracie thanked Katy for inviting her to their wedding and giving this moment to her. Gracie said that Katy was selfless to share her wedding with her “because even though it was for Derick it was huge for me as well.”
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