A future wife who had her life saved by a donor whose daughter had passed in a car accident expressed her desire to have the donor’s father be the one to accompany her down the aisle on her wedding day.
In order to express her gratitude to Dan Donnelly Jr. for changing her life when she was suffering from gastroparesis, an intestinal condition that prevents food from being pushed through the gut, Diana Donnarumma asked Dan Donnelly Jr. to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.
Dan Donnelly Jr.’s daughter Heather had passed away in a car accident four years earlier.
At the time of the incident, Heather had just turned 26 years old and had just completed her master’s degree at the Texas A&M Corpus Christ campus.
Diane shared the following words after being married at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens in Buffalo, New York: “Every day, I do the best that I can to honor her memory and continue on her legacy. In addition, I had the impression that I needed to, as well as the desire, to provide her father the chance.”
Adding: “I had reached my physical and mental breaking point, but things are looking up for me today and I was able to experience the overwhelming affection… of my family and friends.
If it weren’t for her, I never would have considered getting married. In all candor, it surpassed all of my expectations and was all I could have asked for. It was rife with feelings, including tears, laughing, and an overpowering sense of happiness.”
Dan said that while the wedding was difficult for him to attend since he had been a single parent while raising Heather, he was overjoyed to be a part of the event.
He said: “When she asked me whether I would be interested in performing it, I felt really honored and sad as hat opportunity will never arise for me.”
During the event, which was captured on camera, Dan escorted Diane down the aisle for the first part of the ceremony before giving way to her own biological father.
Because to the kindness of an organ donor, Diane’s quality of life has significantly improved, and she is now able to enjoy life with her husband despite the fact that she is still afflicted with her condition and will be required to take medicine for the rest of her life.