CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was a moment Bobby Davis didn't think he would ever see -- meeting the family of the heart donor who saved his life.
Davis had congestive heart failure. Doctors in South Carolina monitored him and later referred him to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, the only hospital in the Charlotte region with a transplant center.
At Carolinas Medical Center, Davis spent weeks in the ICU. After evaluating all of his options, his cardiovascular care team shared that he needed a heart transplant. His cardiologist, Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute's Dr. Joseph Mishkin, worked to find the right match. Soon a heart was found, and the surgery was a success.
"I'm one of the happiest people you'll ever meet," Davis said.
On March 20, 2019, doctors at Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute performed the surgery. The Sanger team performed a heart transplant, giving him a second chance at life. Davis recovered with the help of his care team and his wife Tammy and their kids.
After receiving his transplant, he began writing letters to the family who'd given him a tremendous gift: his new heart. And the family replied. John, Jody Pelt and their kids were mourning the loss of their son and brother, Bill Scruggs, and they started writing letters, too.
Letters that began as anonymous coordinated through LifeShare Carolinas and Gift of Life Michigan turned into weekly phone calls, and two families connected by one heart eventually wanted to meet.
"You hear these things, but to see it is bringing a comfort," Jody Pelt said. "Just knowing that he saved seven people's lives makes us feel good."
This week, John and Jody Pelt met the Davis family in person for the first time.
In an emotional meeting, the two families also had the chance to celebrate the newest addition to Carolina Medical Center's heart transplant floor -- Bill's bell. The Davis family made and donated a special bell for heart transplant recipients to ring after they are discharged to go home from the hospital.
It marked a special moment to celebrate another chance at life, made possible by the gift of organ donation.
"He's going to be remembered," Pelt said. "Every time someone rings it -- he helped with all of that."
"They are my family now," Davis added. "I'm a blessed man."
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