ORLANDO, Fla. – A girl who received the transplanted heart of a slain infant has met the boy's mother in an emotional encounter at Walt Disney World.
Alicia Erchul, whose 4-month-old son Gabriel was killed by her then-husband in 2014, met 4-year-old Morgan Price and her family last month. After Gabriel died from brain swelling from trauma in Jacksonville, a grieving Erchul decided to donate his heart and liver.
The Orlando Sentinel reports Morgan showed Erchul the scar over her chest that the she calls "my zipper."
Morgan was born in Birmingham, Alabama, weeks apart from Gabriel. Her enlarged heart didn't pump enough blood, requiring a transplant.
Erchul said meeting Morgan "brought a sense of peace that I didn't realize I was missing."
Erchul's ex-husband is serving a 40-year prison sentence.