A mother’s love is a force of nature, and like any force of nature, its true power is both unexplainable and unfathomable. Take for example the case of loving British mother, Freda Carter. Five years ago, Freda’s 33-year-old son John died of a brain tumor. Naturally distraught, Freda and her husband, also called John, found solace in the fact that their son’s heart would save another person’s life – as both parents had agreed for their son to become an organ donor. The 66-year-old mother always wished to trace the person who had been given her son’s heart, but hospital rules didn’t allow it. All Freda was told, was that her son’s heart had saved the life of a 14-year-old boy called Scott. Freda told the Daily Mail :
“I have always said since John passed away that my dying wish, the one thing I wanted to do in life, was to meet the boy who got his heart and to feel our John’s beat again.”
Little did John’s mother know that a simple twist of fate would make her heart’s desire a reality. Last November, Freda and her husband attended a memorial service for organ donors at St George’s in Newcastle where a 19-year-old called Scott Rutherford gave a reading. As Scott talked, Freda explained that a strange feeling came over her, and she instinctively knew that the man talking had her son’s heart beating inside him. Breaking down in tears with the uncanny realization, Freda said: “This person’s got my son’s heart.” Freda added:
“It sounds irrational but I just knew he was the recipient of John’s heart. I was completely hysterical. I couldn’t breathe and started making a massive scene. I think it must have been maternal instinct.”
Freda’s instinct was spot on, and the chance encounter led to a later meeting with Scott, who greeted her with open arms. Freda explained:
“Scott came up to me and opened his arms and gave me a huge hug. He said he would be eternally grateful for what we have done for him. I asked him If I could feel John’s heart beat and he let me. It was all I wanted.”
Scott, who was able to pursue his dream of studying performing arts thanks to the heart transplant , described his chance meeting with the Carters as “some sort of miracle,” and said:
“When I was growing up, I had barely any life. I was miserable and when my heart problems got worse I wanted to die. I am unbelievably thankful to John and his family for everything that they have done for me.”
Yet it’s perhaps John’s father who said it best when he explained:
“John lives on through him (Scott). He isn’t dead really.”
