Most transplant recipients do not meet the family of their donor. It can be hard, for both parties. One struggling with survivors guilt and the other dealing with the grief of a lost loved one. Typically each party learns to find peace on their own. Well, Jennifer Ellis decided to break all of the rules. Not only did this lung transplant recipient meet the family of her donor, but she fell in love with and married the brother of her donor.
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Lung Transplant Recipient Breaks The Rules
Jennifer had been sick since birth. PEOPLE Magazine shares that she was born with, "Situs inversus, a rare cognition" that is when the "organs in your chest and belly develop in a reversed position of normal anatomy." A common complication of this condition is primary ciliary dyskinesia. Simply put, the tiny hair-like organs that help clear your body of mucus are affected.
How did this affect Jennifer? She said, "I had multiple years of ear infections and pneumonias and asthma — just a lot of respiratory issues." After years of battling illness after illness the topic of a lung transplant came up. While Jennifer resisted at first, a run in with a fungal infection that left her on oxygen 24/7 had her reconsidering.
PEOPLE shared that she had the lung transplant on September 15, 2019 at the Cleveland Clinic. Jennifer described the moment after her transplant as being able to take "the biggest deep breath." She continued, "It felt like I was taking in air forever."
Jennifer wanted to reach out to her donor's family in a special way. She told PEOPLE that she wanted them to know that her "life meant something to so many people and that we were all very thankful for what she did."
Lung Transplant Turns Into True Love
Jennifer describes the moment of meeting her donor's family for the first time. "It was an instant connection," she recalls, "Like I had known them my whole life." While the meeting could cause pain for some it proved to be healing for Jennifer and her donor's family.
Jennifer's lung transplant donor was Jill Ellis, who died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. Jennifer attributes Jill to part of the reason why she gets along and feels so comfortable with her donor's family. She told PEOPLE, "When I landed at her home, I was so overtaken with emotion." She elaborates, "It was just like she was glad to be home. I know that was her—like, I was bringing her back home."
Jennifer then became so close to her donor's family that Jill's sister Nikki invited her to be in her wedding. It was there that Jennifer fell in love with her donor's brother. The family jokes that Jill had a part in that as well. Jill's mother claims that "I think Jill and God planned this."
Apparently Jill was always trying to hook her brother up with people. However, no one anticipated that the person he would end up with would be the recipient of Jill's lung transplant. As Jennifer married the brother of her donor, she made sure to include Jill in the ceremony.
"We had a seat for her up front, in the front row, with her picture" Jennifer explained. Also, "My dad is a pastor, so he included that we were forever grateful for Jill. She was included in the ceremony." While it is a rare occurrence this love story is truly beautiful. As Jennifer stated, "The amount of things that had to happen for Travis and I to get together is actually unbelievable."
