By Ben Barry
A mom whose daughter died in a crash listened to her heart beat again after it was donated to an eight-year-old girl.
Lisa Schein lost her daughter Maddy, eight, in an ATV accident on April 1, 2022, and decided to donate her organs.
Four people received them, including Mireya Moody, then 7, now 8, who was diagnosed with left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy - a rare condition that can lead to heart failure, age of four.
Lisa Schein listens to her daughter's heart inside of 8-year-old Mireya Moody. (Cleveland Clinic via SWNS)
On August 24, 2024, Lisa was able to meet Mireya and listen to her heartbeat.
She also met Mireya’s mother, Bianca Robinson, at a park near their home in University Heights, Ohio.
Lisa, from Cleveland, Ohio, said: “I wanted to run up to Mireya, squeeze her and never let her go because that was all I had left of my girl.
“We learned the girls even shared some of the same phrases.
“I also loved being able to tell them stories about who Maddy was, about her infectious laugh and bubbly personality.
Maddy and Lisa Schein. (Cleveland Clinic via SWNS)
"I think that’s when my heart began to start healing.”
“It was a beautiful embrace,” recalled Bianca, an HR manager.
“Until just before we met Maddy’s family, Mireya didn’t really understand exactly what getting a new heart meant.
"She thought she was going to meet Maddy. But after we explained it to her, that Maddy wasn’t here anymore, Mireya just knew Lisa needed a hug.”
Bianca Robinson, Lisa Schein and Mireya Moody. (Cleveland Clinic via SWNS)
Talking of finding out a donor had been found for her daughter, Bianca added: "It’s a conflicting feeling, of relief but also guilt.
"I had been praying for this day, for months. But I knew what it meant for another family.”
Doctors diagnosed Mireya after she suddenly fell ill with bouts of vomiting.
While LVNC is treatable, it can’t be cured - and in severe cases, like Mireya’s, the only option is a heart transplant.