STEPHENVILLE, Texas (KWTX) – At a Central Texas wedding in May, the traditional mother-son dance looked different — and it stopped guests in their tracks.
Groom Matthew Firth, who lives in Austin and is originally from Belton, stepped onto the dance floor not with his own mother, but with Carrie Giddens of Frisco — the woman who received his mother’s lungs after she became an organ donor 13 years ago.
“It would have truly felt like she wasn’t there at all, so I kind of felt her presence,” Firth said.
Firth’s mother, Amy Firth, died in 2012 after becoming an organ donor at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. Her lungs went to Giddens, who had battled cystic fibrosis her entire life and was put on life support before receiving the transplant.
Giddens said the invitation to share the dance was both emotional and surreal.
“The fact that he wanted to dance with me — not in place of his mom, but to be able to dance with a piece of his mom on his wedding day — it was an honor,” she said.
Firth said he and his new wife, Elisabeth Haskins, wanted to recognize the bond that has grown between their families over the years.
“It felt like it was Carrie, but at the same time … my mom’s lungs are literally her lungs, so it was as close as I was going to get to that,” Firth said.(John Henderson)
“It felt like it was Carrie, but at the same time … my mom’s lungs are literally her lungs, so it was as close as I was going to get to that,” he said.
Today, Giddens is a mother of three — including twin boys who were toddlers when she received the transplant.
“Not only was I given the opportunity to continue being a mom to my twin boys — they were only 15 months when I got my transplant, and now they’re going to high school — but … we adopted my daughter,” she said.
Family members say the relationship has deepened through shared milestones — anniversaries, birthdays and now a wedding.
“It’s just the relationship has developed over time,” Firth said. “Now, not only does it not feel weird to be around her, but it feels right.”
One relative captured the moment in a line the families say they won’t forget: “Amy did the breathing, and Carrie did the dancing.”
Continuing Amy’s legacy
Firth is the grandson of John and Margaret Henderson of Belton, officers with TRIO Central Texas, a nonprofit support group for transplant recipients, donors and their families.
The Hendersons also serve on the board of the Amy’s House Foundation, which operates a transplant hospitality house near Baylor Scott & White in Temple. The eight-bedroom home provides lodging and support for transplant patients and their families.
John said he hopes the dance — and his mother’s story — encourage more people to consider becoming organ donors.
“There are two parts to the story,” he said. “There is Amy’s tragedy, but there is the story of Carrie who got the gift of life from Amy. I’ve always been proud of what Amy did in life and what she did in death as well.”
More than 100,000 patients nationwide are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, including more than 10,000 in Texas.
You can register as an organ donor when applying for or renewing a driver’s license, during online vehicle registration, or through the Donate Life online registry.
For information on TRIO Central Texas, visit www.triocentraltexas.org. For information on Amy’s House, visit www.amyshouse-temple.org.
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