Mom Leaves Chair Empty for Late Son at Her Wedding, Gets Surprise Chance to Listen to His Heart before Ceremony

A woman who lost her 19-year-old son received a special surprise at her wedding later. She left a chair open in honor of her late son but had no idea he was at her wedding in more ways than just in spirit.

In July 2017, Becky Turney reserved an empty chair for the 19-year-old son she had lost two years prior. However, she had yet to learn a surprise guest would appear and give her a wonderful wedding gift.

Turney missed her son terribly and wanted to make him part of her big day. She included photos of her late son in her wedding bouquet and left a chair open where he would've sat had he been alive.

Turney didn't know that her husband had flown in a special guest for their big day, Jacob Kilby, and had not told her until moments before she walked down the aisle to start her new life.

How Did The Groom Surprise His Bride and Make Her Cry on Wedding Day

When Turney's son, Triston, passed away at 19, he donated his organs to save the lives of other people in need. One of the people he helped was a young man named Jacob Kilby, who received his heart.

After Triston's heart was donated to Kilby, Turney and Kilby exchanged messages online but had never met in person until Turney's big day. Thanks to Turney's husband, her son was at her wedding in the form of Kilby.

Turney's husband had secretly flown Kilby out to Alaska to stand in as a groomsman, but Turney had already reserved a seat for her son, which had a sign on it that read:

"I'm in heaven for your wedding, so what shall I do? I'll come down to Earth to spend it with you. So save me a seat, just one empty chair. You may not see me, but I will be there."

However, when Turney arrived at the aisle, her husband stopped the ceremony to introduce her to Kilby and tell her why he was there. The photos of the day captured by the photographer showed how emotional the meeting was for Turney.

Turney was incredibly grateful that her husband had done something so thoughtful and said she responded like a little girl by squealing and jumping up and down. She gushed: "I've never ever been surprised like that, like ever. I'm the girl who secretly unwraps all the Christmas presents under the tree and puts them back. So for him to pull this off was just incredible."

Turney's husband confessed that hiding Kilby from his wife took some effort until he introduced him as a groomsman. He joked that there was no dry eye in the room and got yelled at for ruining people's makeup.

What Did Kilby Say?

Kilby, who was 21 then, needed a transplant because he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and had his first transplant at two years old. Since then, he had three heart surgeries.

However, two years before the wedding, Kilby's heart started to deteriorate, and although he was meant to leave for college, he suffered a heart attack and was placed on a waiting list for a transplant.

By October 2015, Kilby received Triston's heart, and the surgery and his recovery went smoothly. Turney shared:

"There has seriously not been one complication with the transplant. Everything's been golden. I surf, I go to the gym every day, I do cardio. I'm back to my normal self."

When Kilby spent the day with the Turney family at the wedding, Turney got the opportunity to hear her son's heartbeat once again as she placed a stethoscope on Kilby's chest after she had exchanged vows with her husband. One guest at the wedding said it was one of the most touching things they had ever seen at a wedding.

Organ donations are life-changing for many people, and one woman wanted the family of the person who donated her heart to know what they had done for her and her young family, so she wrote a letter. You can read her whole story here.

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