Around six months ago, Bill Conner lost his 20-year-old daughter after an accident during her winter break, CBS News reports. Abbey and her brother were both found unconscious in a resort pool in Cancun.
Her brother lived. Sadly, Abbey didn't make it. However, her organs now live in 4 men, one of which Bill decided to meet.
Bill was compelled to do something to honor his daughter’s memory after his son and her brother graduated in May. Bill contacted the Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the facility where his daughter’s organs were recovered. He let them know that he wanted to ride his bike to meet the people who had received her organs, in her honor.
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The medical center then sent letters out to the recipients, letting them know that their donor’s father would like to meet them. Only one of the men, 21-year-old Loumonth Jack, Jr., responded. So Bill, an avid biker, decided to ride south, from Madison, WI to Baton Rouge, LA. His mission was to hear the sound of his daughter’s heart beat one last time.
"The only person who has responded at this point is Jack Jr., the heart recipient," Conner said. The two then arranged to meet on Father’s Day. "This is what she would want me to do," Conner told CBS News in an interview.
Shortly before Jack Jr. was given Abbey’s heart, he was given only 10 days to live.
After his lengthy trip, he met up with Jack Jr. and the two embraced in an emotional moment.
"She saved me and I can't repay her. I wish I could but I can't," Jack told WAFB, a CBS affiliate, in Baton Rouge. "All I can do is send my love to her family."