NEW YORK (PIX11) – It was a heartbreaking story just before Christmas two years ago: A 47-year-old veteran firefighter died days after a tragic fall during a training exercise in Brooklyn.
Before his death, FDNY firefighter William Moon, affectionately called Billy, registered as an organ donor. Following her husband’s wishes, his widow donated his gifts of life to five recipients who received heart, lung, liver, and kidney transplants. Recently, three of them got together for the first time for lunch at the family’s home in Islip on Long Island.
Wrapping their arms around each other, Terrance Jordan exclaimed, “Being together with these guys is just incredible.”
They each have something incredible in common. They are alive because of Moon’s tragedy and generosity.
“None of us would be here right now without Billy,” Jordan added.
As a firefighter, Moon was trained to save lives. After his death, he continued that mission through the donation of five of his organs.
It was an uplifting moment for widow Kristina Moon and her children to be with three people carrying Billy’s heart, lungs, and liver.
“He did great things in life,” beamed Kristina Moon. “I’m so proud of him even in death that he saved the lives of five people, three of them sitting here with me and for my kids. He was always a hero. Now he’s a hero to other people. He’s living on no matter what.”
After his third heart attack, Richard Grehl was told he wouldn’t survive unless he received a heart transplant.
“Something I never thought would happen in my lifetime,” he said.
The New York Lives On organization found Grehl was a match to receive the fallen firefighter’s heart.
“It beats every day. I think of him every day and I thank God that our paths crossed. I hope I am able to continue a life he was unable to continue,” Grehl proudly proclaimed.
Retired firefighter Patrick Reynolds chimed in: “Hollywood could not have scripted this. It’s an amazing story.”
Reynold’s diseased liver was failing. The day Moon died, he received his healthy liver in a successful transplant.
“It’s an incredible experience. When you put your feet on the floor, when you wake up and you put your head on the pillow at night, it’s because of Billy Moon,” he added.
Jordan survived the Sept. 11 terror attacks with damaged lungs. He said if wasn’t for Moon, he wouldn’t be here.
“Billy lives on in me every breath I take,” he added.
Kristina Moon added: “It’s hard to describe how amazing it feels to know that he’s living on in each of them and that my own kids get to see and be a part of it.”
At the table, Jordan jokingly asked Moon’s 12-year-old daughter, “Do you think you’re dad would get along with us?”
“Yeah,” she responded, as they all burst into laughter.
Moon’s presence was felt throughout the home – in the photos adorning the walls and the memorabilia from his 20 years as a firefighter. And the Build-a-Bear his daughter Brianne had made with the actual recording of her father’s heartbeat. She clutched the toy bear and exclaimed, “It never stops beating because my Dad never stops.”
His family carries on his legacy through the Billy Moon Foundation, founded to encourage people to become organ donors.
“The relationship we have here and getting together really speaks to the power of organ donations and what it can do to the better good,” Kristina Moon said. “You can save up to eight lives and improve 75 more.”
Billy Moon was a hero in life and death. He lives on through the lives he’s saved through his organ donations. The recipients of his organs have become part of his family’s extended family. And the reunion gave the woman he was married to for 10 years another opportunity to listen to the beat of his heart through the stethoscope she pressed against Grehl’s chest.
For more information about organ donations, you can visit the Billy Moon Foundation and Live On New York.
Article From:
pix11.com
English (US) ·