As you go through the weekend, think this over and post your reaction in the comments below.
A man who received a heart transplant 12 years ago and later married the donor’s widow died the same way the donor did… of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
No foul play was suspected in 69-year-old Sonny Graham’s death at his Vidalia, Ga., home. He was found Tuesday in a utility building in his backyard with a single shotgun wound.
Graham… was on the verge of congestive heart failure in 1995 when he got a call that a heart was available in Charleston.
That heart was from Terry Cottle, 33, who had shot himself.
Grateful for his new heart, Graham began writing letters to the donor’s family to thank them. In January 1997, Graham met his donor’s widow, Cheryl, then 28, in Charleston. They married several years later.
This story is not an isolated event either. According to Professor Gary Schwartz at the University of Arizona, there are more than 70 documented cases where transplant patients have adopted some of the personality traits of the donor.
A man develops a sudden love for classical music after receiving a heart from a violinist. Another man begins to enjoy baking, shopping, and gardening after receiving a kidney from his wife. And many more similar stories.
Is it possible that parts of the soul of a person can be transplanted into another?
If so, is it possible to experience a deeper connection to others without transplanting organs? But instead through deeper sharing of emotions, thoughts, maybe even our spirit?
Thoughts?
