Valentine’s Day is widely known as a celebration of love, but it also marks National Donor Day, a time to honor organ donors and the lives they save.
For one Tallahassee family, the day is deeply personal.
They are sharing how a young woman’s final decision transformed unimaginable heartbreak into hope and created a bond that will last a lifetime.
“I was shaking hands with death. I really did think that it was it,” said organ transplant recipient Kris Vanni.
Vanni said her health crisis began with what seemed like a routine case of the flu. While her husband recovered, her condition rapidly worsened.
“I ended up getting blood clots in my lungs, and I just went downhill from there; all of my organs started shutting down,” Vanni said.
Doctors quickly ran out of options. She was transferred from her local hospital to Orlando, and then to the Mayo Clinic, where she waited for what she describes as a miracle.
“And it was right in time that I got that call,” Vanni said. “And Aimee saved my life. I mean, it was a miracle.”
