It was an emotional meeting between two families bound together by a single heart.
Brooke Eaton traveled from Illinois to meet the little girl who received her late son's heart as part of a lifesaving transplant at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital in Minneapolis.
Eaton's son, Cazmirr "Cash" Landers, was a happy 2-year-old who "loved trains and spending time with his family," the hospital said. But in September 2018, Landers died after drowning in a pool. In her grief, Eaton made the selfless decision to donate her son's organs.
In Minnesota, baby Lola Bond was running out of time. After Lola was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and her family learned that her enlarged heart was crushing her surrounding organs, her family was desperate to find a transplant match. When the call came through that Cash's heart was a match, they were overjoyed.
On Wednesday, the families met for the first time, and Eaton had the chance to cuddle Lola and listen to her heartbeat, as well as speak with Lola's grandmother, Margaret Bond Vorel. It was a moment both families will never forget.
“As soon as I saw her, I fell in love with her. She’s just precious and that’s also my boy. I heard his heartbeat, that’s really beautiful,” Eaton told CBS Minnesota affiliate WCCO. "To have a connection with my baby still, like with me and Lola, we’re going to have a connection the rest of our lives."
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