Julie Lyons has a name for her heart. She calls it Bob, named after the Nova Scotia man who donated the vital organ to her after he died -- a gift she says gave her a second shot at life.
On Friday, Lyons had the chance to finally meet the daughters of her heart鈥檚 namesake, Bob Cox, when they all met up in Toronto.
鈥淵ou hear him? He鈥檚 there,鈥� said Lyons, pressing a stethoscope to her chest as Carolyn Cox-Disney listens in.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 awesome,鈥� said Cox-Disney, taking Lyons by the hand.
鈥淚sn鈥檛 it?鈥� Lyons said.
Lyons was born with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a congenital disorder that eventually led to congestive heart failure. In 2011, she was in a Halifax hospital in desperate need of a heart transplant.
The life-saving organ donation ended up coming from within the same building. Around the same time, Cox was rushed to the same Halifax hospital after he suffered a traumatic fall at his home in Nova Scotia. At the age of 57, he was pronounced dead.
鈥淓verybody said he had a heart of gold,鈥� said Belynda Garcia, who lives in Calgary with her sister. 鈥淗e would give you the shirt off of his back.鈥�
His family decided to donate his organs to someone in need.
鈥淲e were really surprised, we just thought, okay we鈥檒l say yes because why not right? He could save somebody鈥檚 life,鈥� Garcia said.
A nurse delivered the good news to Lyons.
鈥淥ne of the nurses came and said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not getting your medications tonight. They think they have a heart for you,鈥� she said.
The surgery was a success, and Lyons said it gave her back her life.
鈥淚 never, ever in a million years would鈥檝e thought I would feel like this. Because I thought life as I know it is over. I just won鈥檛 be able to do any of those things that I love to do 鈥� and I can,鈥� she said.
The transplant process is typically kept secret, so meet-ups between a donor鈥檚 family and a recipient are rare. But a relative of Cox heard Lyons鈥� story and noticed some similarities. The two families began to correspond and made the connection. After five years of correspondence, they decided to meet in Toronto.
Before the meet-up, Lyons said she was feeling 鈥渁 little bit nervous鈥� but had prepared what she wanted to tell Cox鈥檚 daughters.
鈥淭hank you. Thank you for giving me my life back,鈥� she said.
Lyons and Cox鈥檚 daughters plan to spend the next few days getting to know each other.
With a report from CTV Toronto
