The mother of a toddler who died in an accidental drowning heard his heart beat again inside the chest of the little girl who received it.
Brooke Eaton’s two-year-old son, Cazmirr ‘Cash’ Landers, fell into a swimming pool in August 2018 and was on life support for six days before passing away.
Eaton, from Pekin, Illinois, made the decision to donate his organs, saving several lives.
One of them was Lola Bond, who was diagnosed with a heart condition when she was just a few days old.
Now, nearly a year later, as a sign of gratitude, Lola’s grandparents, who are her legal guardians, invited Eaton to hear Cash’ heart beat again.
Brooke Eaton, from Pekin, Illinois, heard her late son Cazmirr ‘Cash’ Landers’s heart beat for the first time since he died a year ago (left and right). It was received by then-five-month-old Lola Bond, of Minnesota, who was diagnosed at birth with pediatric cardiomyopathy
Cash (pictured) accidentally fell in a swimming pool in August 2018 and was on life support for six days before he passed away
Lola was born with pediatric cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that causes the organ to become enlarged, thickened or stiffened.
Eventually, the heart is unable to properly pump blood throughout the body, which can lead to heart failure or death.
Pediatric cardiomyopathy is rare, affecting an estimated one per 100,000 children, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
There is no cure, but treatments include medication, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator to regulate heartbeat and, potentially, a heart transplant.
On September 3, 2018, when was Lola was just five months old, a call came in saying a match had been found, reported CNN.
The transplant was performed the next day at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.
According to Lola’s family, she is doing well but will be on anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life, and may need another transplant later on, CNN reported.
The two families began exchanging letters, and then text messages, after connecting through Gift of Hope, the organization that coordinated the transplant.
Eventually they agreed to meet, and Eaton drove to Minnesota with her four-year-old daughter, Cierra.
Lola received her new heart on September 4, 2018 at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Pictured: Lola being cradled by Eaton
Her family says she is doing well but will be on anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life, and may need another transplant later on. Pictured, left to right: Lola, her grandfather Jeffrey Vorel, her grandmother Margaret Bond Vorel and Eaton
Lola’s grandmother, Margaret Bond Vorel, said she was excited but nervous.
‘It had to be the worst day of [Eaton’s] life,’ Vorel said in an interview on the hospital’s blog.
‘And yet it turned [out to be] probably the best day of our lives, so there is that guilt in that process.’
Eaton says that from the moment she met the Vorels, she was overcome with emotion.
‘I walked into the room and immediately broke down and cried,’ she said, according to the blog. ‘As soon as I saw her, I fell in love with her. She’s just precious.’
Eaton put on a stethoscope, placed the chest piece by Lola’s heart, and listened.
‘I’m just very happy that I can hear his heart, and that I know he’s living his life in her now,’ she said.
The two families began corresponding and agreed to meet up. They live about 12 hours apart but plan on keeping in contact and visiting each other in the future. Pictured, left and right: Lola as a newborn, left, and as a toddler, right
Eaton was also given a MP3 electrocardiogram recording of Cash’s heartbeat. Pictured, left to right: Lola, her grandfather Jeffrey Vorel, her grandmother Margaret Bond Vorel and Eaton
Vorel then gave Eaten a MP3 electrocardiogram recording of the heartbeat, so that she can listen to it on her phone, whenever she wants.
‘Oh, that’s the most beautiful sound ever,’ Eaton said after she listened to the recording.
‘It was to us, too,’ Vorel replied.
The two families live about 12 hours apart but plan on keeping in contact and visiting each other in the future.
‘From here on out, Lola’s as much ours as she is hers,’ Vorel said.
‘Knowing that there is a whole other family out there that loves her as much as we do is amazing. Cash’s story can continue with Lola’s journey. Together, it’ll be two really great things.’