Bill Conner lost his daughter Abbey at the age of 20 in January 2017
Emotional footage shows the moment a father heard his deceased daughter’s heartbeat inside of a man who’d received her heart after suffering a heart attack.
In January 2017, Bill Conner suddenly lost his 20-year-old daughter Abbey.
She and her brother Austin were discovered unconscious and face down in a pool in Cancun during a winter break vacation.
While her brother survived, Abbey suffered irreversible brain injury by the time she was pulled out of the water, as per CBS News.
She was subsequently transported to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, and kept on life support.
After her family had said their goodbyes to Abbey, doctors then harvested her organs for organ donation and transplants.
When she was 16, Abbey had signed up to be an organ donor after receiving her driver’s license.
“She registered. It’s something that she knew a long time ago. Unfortunately, it came to fruition, but that’s Abbey,” Bill told the publication.
“If you had her as a friend she always had your back, and for her to be helping people in need – that fits who she is.”
Meanwhile, a then 21-year-old Loumonth Jack, Jr. was given a devastating prognosis following a heart attack – he was given 10 days to live after being diagnosed with cardiomyopathy.
Bill Conner with his children Abbey and Austin (GoFundMe)
However, he soon received Abbey’s heart, which ended up saving his life.
Following his daughter’s passing, Bill decided to ride a whopping 2,600 miles to help encourage people to donate their organs.
Beginning his mammoth journey from his home in Madison, his cycle would end when he reached Broward Health Medical Center, which was the hospital that recovered Abbey’s organs.
And while on his journey, Bill met with Jack in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Father’s Day, after the clinic had reached out those who’d received four of her organs to meet with him, according to the BBC.
The moment the pair met for the first time was caught on camera, when Jack presented Bill with a Father’s Day present – a stethoscope.
Bill then used the stethoscope on Jack’s chest so he could hear his daughter’s heartbeat, and the pair embraced.
It was an emotional moment (Donate Life Louisiana)
Bill added: “Knowing he’s alive because of Abbey, Abbey is alive inside of him — it’s her heart having him stand up straight.
“I was happy for him and his family, and at the same time, I got to reunite with my daughter.”
He also called Jack a ‘really humble kid’, adding: “Obviously, you know, I’m a dad. His parents raised him well. He’s very courteous and respectful and he’s got an old soul.”
Meanwhile, Jack told WAFB: “She saved me and I can’t repay her. I wish I could but I can’t. All I can do is send my love to her family.”
Jack and Bill met again in 2018 on Steve Harvey’s show, Steve TV Show, where Jack said he was ‘thankful’ for ‘Abigail, Mr Bill and pretty much just living’.
