In an incredible twist of fate, Terry Cottle and Sonny Graham never met, however they shared something in common…their heart and their wife. What makes this further interesting is not only did they share the same wife and heart, but they also died the exact same way from self-inflicted gunshots twelve years ago.
Their wife’s name is Cheryl Graham, she was heartbroken twice. How things turned out was quite unusual. Terry Cottle died when he was 33 years old, he used a 22-caliber gun and placed it behind his right ear in the bathroom.
Their wife’s name is Cheryl Graham, she was heartbroken twice. How things turned out was quite unusual. Terry Cottle died when he was 33 years old, he used a 22-caliber gun and placed it behind his right ear in the bathroom.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00 There are many reasons, why a person might need to have an organ transplant but the main one is to be able to continue to live
00:12 We know there are many organs people can, donate however today
00:16 We'll just focus on the heart the heart as a few more organs of the human body is essential so that we can live and
00:22 In some cases a bad nutrition lack of exercise and increased stress can cause damage to this organ
00:28 So when you reach a point where you depend on having a new heart to be able to continue to live you enter the waiting list
00:33 Literally thousands of people in just a small country wait for years to receive a new organ that saves their lives
00:39 Which is why when you're qualified to receive a transplant you'll feel somewhat relieved to know you'll live for a few more years
00:45 But what happens when instead of having a fresh start thanks to the transplant you start living the life of the person who donated his
00:53 Or her organ and not your own it sounds unlikely
00:56 But it has actually happened and this is one of the cases in
00:59 1995 a 57 year old man sony, graham was on the verge of death
01:04 He had been entered into the hospital due to a congestive heart failure and was in need of an urgent transplant that would help keep him alive
01:11 Luckily for him he got one in just six months but, whose heart, was mr.
01:16 Graham getting well a 33 year old man named terry coddle had just died a victim of a suicide
01:21 He'd held a gun to his head and pulled the trigger
01:24 His organs however were intact and so they could be donated at first mr.
01:28 Graham, didn't know the identity of the donor or even the reason of his death he was just happy to know
01:33 Doctors were going to be able to save his life
01:35 After receiving the news mr.
01:37 Graham, went to the hospital from his home nearby and had the heart transplanted that very same day the procedure was a success and mr
01:45 Graham continued to live
01:46 During his first year after the transplant he lived a quiet life and never worried about anything
01:51 But all of a sudden he got curious to know, who the family of the donor was and so he contacted the organ donation agency
01:57 And asked for information
01:59 After getting the intel he needed mr. Graham decided to take the time to thank mr. Coddle's family for the gift of life
02:05 He started to send messages to his donors widow and after some time they both met
02:10 Cheryl a mother of four gave love one more chance and ended up marrying her late husband's heart recipient mr.
02:17 Graham they fell for each other and once they were married they decided to take a step further in their relationship and moved to the state of
02:23 Georgia
02:24 Shortly after the wedding mr.
02:26 Graham said it helped me so much meeting Cheryl made it easier for me knowing something so good came from something so bad as
02:32 It seems they were truly in love but everything changed when in 2007 being 69 years old mr.
02:39 Graham did the unexpected
02:41 He took his own life in a very similar way to what Cheryl's former husband had done
02:46 He grabbed a shotgun pointed to his throat and pulled the trigger
02:49 His body was found in the garage he and Cheryl shared police officers checked the scene and sent mr.
02:55 Graham's corpse to be examined by a coroner in a matter of hours it was determined mr.
03:00 Graham had indeed died victim of a suicide
03:03 What's weird is that according to his friends? He never showed any signs of depression to the contrary he always seemed to be so happy
03:10 So if he wasn't depressed then what drove him to take such a fatal decision
03:16 Well, no one knows for sure, but some people believe it all had to do with the donated heart
03:20 How so you might ask well scientists say there are more than 70 documented cases in which transplant patients get personality changes
03:28 After they receive a new organ most of the time they take on some of the characteristics of the donor
03:33 Just to mention an example a woman from Lancashire Cheryl Johnson said to have her literary taste changed after having a kidney transplant
03:41 First she used to read celebrity bios and bestsellers such as the Da Vinci Code
03:45 But after the transplant she started to enjoy classics such as Jane Austen's persuasion and Dostoevsky's crime and punishment
03:52 This phenomenon not yet explained by science is better known as cellular memory
03:57 Just as we mentioned at the beginning of this video some people don't get to live their lives after an organ transplant
04:03 But the lives of their donors mr.
04:06 Graham was one of those people not only did he marry his donors widow
04:09 but he also died the same way his donor did.
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