A Virginia couple who lost their daugther a year ago got a chance to hear her lungs again.
Samantha Justice, 20, was killed last year when a truck struck her car on the Capital Beltway. Justice was an organ donor, and her organs went on to save five lives.
Her parents, Angela and Ray Justice, got to meet the recipient of their daughter’s lungs Sunday.
On June 20, 2016, the Justices received the phone call no parent wants to receive.
"The first words out of my mouth were 'Is she going to make it?'," Angela Justice said through tears. "I prayed that a young girl would get my daughter's heart and lungs."
Recently, Angela Justice received a letter from Jackie Price, the young woman who received Samantha Justice's lungs.
"Her lungs continue to breathe, for me," the letter read. "Everyday I have here is because of Samantha."
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Price has battled lung disease her entire life; she spent a month in a coma and came very close to death, according to her nurses.
When the families met in person, Price brought a stethoscope so Justice’s parents could hear their late daughter’s lungs give life to someone else.
"That’s my baby in there. I felt my daughter -- something I haven't been able to feel, ” Angela Justice said.
Angela Justice says her daughter was a kind and generous girl.
"If she saw somebody on the street, she'd stop and give them whatever she had," she said.
Price expressed gratitude for the gift she has been given.
"I don’t really know how to put into words how appreciative I am,” Price told Justice's mom.
Price says she has been able to slowly transition back to a somewhat normal life, and has gone back to her job.
