A Wedding day brings out the best in a person and this beautiful bride went the extra mile to make her husband feel really special on their big day.
Derick Smith was 12 years of age when he lost his brother, Jake, to a grueling car accident when he was only 13 years of age and his parents decided to donate all of Jake’s organs but never ever met the recipient of any of the organs.
Smith’s then-fiancee, Katy, planned to surprise him on their big day by making him hear his brother’s heart beating again.
“I had asked Derick’s mom, I said, you know this is going to be a really personal question, and you can tell me no, but I’m really interested in trying to find the person that received Jake’s heart and would you be willing to do that?” Katy Said. “She cried and she was really happy and she said, ‘Absolutely, I think this will be a great idea.’”
The search took Katy a year but she was able to locate the lady whose life was changed- Gracie Wilkinson.
Wilkinson received the transplant when she was only 6 years old. “I found out her name and I found her on Facebook, and so I sent her a message… within two minutes she responded saying, ‘Absolutely, I would love to be there, just tell me when and where and I will be there,’” Katy said.
It was the best moment at the wedding ceremony when Wilkinson met Derick and was captured in video by Fonash Studios. “I’m glad you came. Thank you for having me. I’m glad my brother was able to help you,” Wilkinson said during the moment.
The reunion was an emotional one with Smith getting to hear Jake’s heart. In a sweet gesture, Wilkinson also made Smith a key chain with an image of his brother’s heartbeat from an EKG.
“What it was like to hear his heartbeat was a flood of different emotions,” Smith said. “There’s not a word to describe it. She gave me the gift of closure.”
Wilkinson was overwhelmed as she said, “I was shocked that she was selfless enough to kind of share her wedding day with me because even though it was for Derick it was huge for me as well,” she said.
“Getting to meet everyone and getting to be part of their day and a part of that moment for Derick and kind of bringing Derick some closure from losing his brother means the absolute world to me,” she added.
The gift of hearing his brother’s heartbeat after ages must have really touched Derick Smith’s heart thanks to his bride Katy’s determination to find Wilkinson who graciously agreed to meet Smith.
Watch the emotional video below.
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