{"id":152457,"date":"2017-06-27T12:41:10","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T12:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=152457"},"modified":"2017-06-27T12:41:10","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T12:41:10","slug":"man-cycles-1400-miles-meet-man-received-daughters-heart-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/06\/27\/man-cycles-1400-miles-meet-man-received-daughters-heart-donation\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Cycles 1,400 Miles to Meet the Man Who Received His Daughter\u2019s Heart Donation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>To hear her heartbeat once more on Father\u2019s Day. That was the wish Bill Conner had when he hopped on a bike and left his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. His 20-year-old daughter Abbey had lost her life five months ago, and he just felt he had to honour her life somehow. And a long solo ride on his bicycle seemed just like the right thing to do.<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Abbey and her brother were found unconscious, lying in a resort pool in Cancun over the winter break. Unfortunately, the girl suffered an irreversible brain injury, so she was flown to Fort Lauderdale where she was kept on life support until the doctors found a suitable recipient for her organs. Abbey became a donor as soon as she got her driving license at the age of 16.<\/p>\n<lite-youtube videoid=-zpku7Es9gs params=\"enablejsapi=1\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi_webp\/-zpku7Es9gs\/maxresdefault.webp');\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<p>\u201cShe registered. It\u2019s something that she knew a long time ago. Unfortunately, it came to fruition, but that\u2019s Abbey. If you had her as a friend she always had your back, and for her to be helping people in need \u2013 that fits who she is,\u201d her father told CBS News.<\/p>\n<p>When Bill Conner decided to honour her memory by making a 2,600-mile trip from his hometown to Fort Lauderdale, the Florida donation centre sent letters to every recipient of his daughter\u2019s organs. Jack Jr. (21) was the first one to respond and agree to a meeting with Conner. They met on Father\u2019s Day in Baton Rouge, 1,400 miles into the trip. After a long hug, Jack Jr. surprised Bill with a stethoscope, so he could hear his daughter\u2019s heartbeat once more.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_152460\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-152460\" style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2017\/06\/xxxxxxxx.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-152460 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2017\/06\/xxxxxxxx.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"409\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-152460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bill Conner with his daughter Abbey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a really humble kid. Obviously, you know, I\u2019m a dad. His parents raised him well. He\u2019s very courteous and respectful and he\u2019s got an old soul. Knowing he\u2019s alive because of Abbey, Abbey is alive inside of him. It\u2019s her heart having him stand up straight, I was happy for him and his family, and at the same time, I got to reunite with my daughter,\u201d Conner said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe saved me and I can\u2019t repay her. I wish I could but I can\u2019t,\u201d Jack told CBS. Together with his family, he made a recording of Abbey\u2019s heartbeat, so Conner could listen to it as he rides on to Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_152461\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-152461\" style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2017\/06\/xxxxxxxx-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-152461 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2017\/06\/xxxxxxxx-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"410\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-152461\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;This is what she would want me to do,&#8221; Conner told CBS News.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about not being selfish and burying things that could help people live or live better lives,\u201d Conner said about organ donation. \u201cIf you want a legacy \u2013 what better legacy could you have than to help people live?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To hear her heartbeat once more on Father\u2019s Day. That was the wish Bill Conner had when he hopped on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":152463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[333,329],"tags":[1190,1191],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-152457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-road-cycling","tag-bill-conner","tag-daughter-abbey"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Man Cycles 1,400 Miles to Meet the Man Who Received His Daughter\u2019s Heart Donation - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To hear her heartbeat once more on Father\u2019s Day. 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