Bride celebrates love, life by inviting parents of heart donor to wedding

WHEN Greer Underwood walked down the aisle last month to marry her partner, Peyton Cash, there was a heartbeat in the room that carried more meaning than most.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

Sitting in the front row were Wil and Rhena Worthington, watching with pride and tears. Their late son Noah’s heart now beats in Greer’s chest.

This was not just a wedding. It was a full-circle moment that captured what second chances look like in real life.

Back in 2011, Underwood was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that, can lead to heart failure and sudden death if untreated, with doctors telling her family that she wouldn't survive without an urgent heart transplant.

At the same time, 11-year-old Noah Worthington, an energetic, creative boy who loved running, was declared brain dead after a devastating car accident. His parents, Wil and Rhena, were crushed. Initially, Wil resisted the idea of organ donation, People reports.

“Twas very angry,’ Wil later admitted in an interview. “But suddenly, I felt it was Noah telling me not to let tragedy breed more tragedy.”