Instead of waiting for an ambulance, his friends carried him to their car and rushed him to the Tulane University Medical Center where the diagnosis was eventually made. Jorge had served as the vice president of the company. He and Leslie got the call on March 27, 2008, and they flew to Jacksonville where Jorge underwent a double-lung transplant at the Mayo Clinic medical center. Eric and Grace Gregory are the parents of Christopher Gregory, who unexpectedly died of a ruptured brain aneurysm in March 2008. Chris Gregory was a 2007 graduate of Mount Saint Joseph High School. However, just a week before his death, he had casually been talking to his parents after dinner one night about driver's licenses. Did we want it? Her husband Jorge passed away September 23, 2020, after which Leslie continued to help spread his and Christophers story. Without the seven-hour surgery Bacardi endured in Jacksonville, Florida for his new lungs, it is not likely he would have survived for much longer. Aenean massa. He was able to breathe on his own for the first time in more than 20 years. Jorges lungs were so weak that he couldnt get enough oxygen into his blood to sustain his life. Jorge got to learn all about Chris, the 19-year-old who saved his life. Christopher Gregorys family members include parents:EricandGrace. If the severity of the childs condition prevents him or her from working or participating in school, then, Kids are able to catch up from delays. He always brought light to every room entered. Her father, better known as Bob, was a graduate of the Texas School of Mines and served during World War 2 at the Boston Naval Yard as a Lieutenant in the Navy. There was now a huge hole in our lives where our son once fit so perfectly. It may take a while to reap any benefits, but when those benefits do come, it will make the investment seem small. Bacardi had a lung problem since his childhood. The salutation and first lines of the letter had been edited by UNOS. He placed greater value in relationships with people than with objects to be possessed. Leslie Bacardi lives in the exclusive gated community of Lyford Cay in the Bahamas. Jorge Bacardi was a member of the Bacardi family, the eponymous owners of one of the worlds largest family-owned spirit companies. (Detailed Guide). We soon met Nic Whitacre, founder of the H-E-R-O Movement, an internet-based advocacy initiative. "We are very grateful for the Bacardis' gift, which will accelerate our ability to provide regenerative medicine solutions to patients," says Dr. Gonwa, who is also chair of the Department of Transplantation at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Bring your Kleenex, you may shed a tear or two. He was born to Caridad and Joaquin Bacardi. Because every day that they wake up they can love someone. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. The Gabriel House of Care at the Mayo Clinic Hospital thus pays tribute to Christopher and also serves as a memorial to the extraordinary circumstances that Jorge Bacardi survived. Maria, and their three children, all of whom were born with the disease, were among the first in the United States to receive the new treatment, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The grateful couple, years later, also funded the movie 2 hearts, which told this incredible story and featured quasi-fictional characters of Leslie and Jorge and Christopher and his girlfriend, Samantha. They had a great sense of humor. Yes. Its a film about the power of love, and how it can bring people together, even when they dont know each other. He knew that there is more that unites us than there is that divides us. Christopher Gregory and his girlfriend Jenn had just started a new chapter. The crucial organ transplant that saved the life of Jorge Bacardi set in motion a sequence of events that have resulted in much support for the medical community, especially in regenerative medicine. From what we can tell, even after the death of her husband, Leslie continued to promote the movie and also maintains a friendship with the Gregory family. Christopher Gregory is responsible for starting The Gabriel House. The organs were transplanted into other patients on the waiting list. For example, a patient's own skin cells may be collected, reprogrammed in a laboratory to give them certain characteristics, and then delivered back to the patient to treat diseases at various places within the body. Organ donation represents humanity at its very best. What am I going to do with my organs after Im gone. And then with a twinkle in his eye that was uniquely Chris he continued, "And besides, who wouldnt want THIS body? That was the Thursday before Easter in 2008. "The Bacardis' generosity will help us transform medical care for people with some of the most difficult-to-treat conditions.". Bacardi was in desperate need of a double-lung transplant due to a disease that had been weakening him as his name remained on a waiting list for years, according to The Mayo Clinic. October 20, 2020 | Rating: The film is based on the real-life story of Jorge Bacardi of the Bacardi Rum dynasty and Christopher Gregory, an organ donor who tragically and suddenly passed away at the age of 19 from a. Sam was loosely inspired by Chris Gregory's real-life girlfriend who the book refers to as Jenn. Christopher Gregory was a sophomore at Loyola University in New Orleans in 2008 when he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. The letters author was Jorge Bacardi. Chris had been gone only 12 weeks when we got a call from LOPA. Who gave Jorge Bacardi his lungs? Bacardi, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006, was given a second chance at life. The 2 Hearts true story confirms that he had completed one semester and was in the middle of his second. (Explanation Inside! The film is based on the real-life story of Jorge Bacardi of the Bacardi Rum dynasty and Christopher Gregory, an organ donor who tragically and suddenly passed away at the age of 19 from a brain aneurysm. Jacob Elordi portrays the role of Christopher Gregory, who decided to donate his organs after his death. However, Jorge pushed on with his difficult lungs and even made it past the age of 40, which doctors, again, had said was highly unlikely. But there was a crisis looming. March 2008, at age 64, Jorge Bacardi received a double lung transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Chris died through no fault of his own. Just before saying our good-byes to Chris, Joe took me off to the side. He took his first breath of air in more than a decade after a double-lung transplant at the Florida campus. One of his organ donation receivers was renowned businessman Jorge Bacardi. His heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas were shipped to the same Jacksonville hospital where Bacardi had his transplant. The movie is an adaptation of the book All . He believed in God, in family, in loyalty and in Mount Saint Joe High School. The doctors told them Christopher had suffered a brain aneurysm and he was not likely to survive. They also helped fund the production of 2 Hearts in an effort to spread their incredible story and inspire people to become organ donors. He affirmed this commitment one day in late March 2008. The 2 Hearts true story reveals that the real Leslie was indeed working as a Pan Am flight attendant when she met Jorge Bacardi. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Jorge Bacardi, a well-known businessman, was one of the recipients of his organ donation. However, its actually healthier, The child support ends when the child is 21 years old. In the movie, Jorge meets his future wife Leslie while he is on an airplane and she is working as a flight attendant. Christopher Gregory was dating his girlfriend,Jenn. The 19-year old was a freshman at Loyola University, New Orleans, at the time. The building offers long-term housing to oncology and transplant patients who are being treated at the clinic. On wednesday, september 23rd, 2020, the husband of a woman who has been with him for 46 years, passed away at the age of 84, at their residence in lyford cay. Christopher Gregory's death led to the survival of Jorge Bacardi. Because of Christopher's decision to donate, 63-year-old Jorge Bacardi received a lifesaving double-lung transplant for his lifelong primary ciliary dyskinesia and with it, his first-ever full breath of air. "Theres planes flying all over the country tonight because of your boy, he said. Later, in 2009, the Bacardi's learned the true identity of their donor. The romantic drama 2 Hearts features 2 couples separated by time and connected in the most unlikely of ways through a pair of healthy lungs. Even though we were losing our son, lives were being saved. The double lung transplant surgery that the Bacardi executive then underwent was a success, and Jorge got a new lease on life. Jorge paid that gift back in a major way. Jorge, then 64, had a plane available at a moment's notice in case a pair of lungs ever showed up on the donor list. "We really sincerely think that's the future, and Mayo Clinic will make it happen. The care house, which is located in the Mayo Clinic hospital campus in Jacksonville, where Jorge underwent his lifesaving lung transplant using Christophers lungs, was named in honor of Eric and Graces late son. But who is the real Leslie whose husband was miraculously saved? Christopher Gregory was an organ donor who tragically and suddenly passed away at the age of 19 from a brain aneurysm. How Did A Children's Hospital In London End Up Making Millions Off Peter Pan? His recovery has been remarkable despite his surgery being complex. How Did Tom Benson Become Rich Enough To Buy The New Orleans Saints? It is based on the true story of Leslie and Jorge Bacardi and Christopher Gregory. Jorge Bacardi: The miracle that Mayo Clinic has, in fact, achieved for me, is a gift that cannot be repaid. Before Jorge knew his organ donor by name, he wrote a heartfelt letter of gratitude to the donor family in which he referred to Christopher as "Gabriel," his saving angel. That's what regenerative medicine is all about, trying to use this technology and trying to make what it appears to be science fiction to be a fact. When his grandfather was in home hospice, during Chris senior year in high school, Chris would drive out of his way after school to check up on him. 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