Miriam Nieves was “born” again, after receiving a double heart and kidney transplant in The Bronx (NYC).
The emotion was now completed when she was able to meet the family of the donor who gave her a second chance at life, a nursing student who tragically passed away. “I can’t express enough that if it wasn’t for the donors, they are my angels,” she told Fox News the Hispanic from 39 years.
Nieves, a resident of New York’s Westchester County, is the first HIV-positive to HIV-positive heart transplant recipient in the world. She contracted the virus at years while she was battling drug addiction.
Miriam Nieves was part of a very special family reunion. The 62-year-old on Tuesday met the family of the donor who gave her a second chance at life. Miriam is the world>s first HIV-positive-to-HIV-positive heart transplant recipient. https://t.co/5bnFneCPUi— Fox5NY (@fox5ny) November ,
“He had a very sweet, helpful, forgiving and protector”
Family member remembers donor Brittany Newton
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a diagnosis of kidney cancer led to the need for a first transplant. While waiting for a match, doctors discovered that her heart was deteriorating and she, too, needed to be replaced.Thus, Nieves entered the waiting list for both a heart and a kidney. In April, she received a call that a match had been found in Louisiana: year-old nursing student Brittany Newton died tragically and was also HIV positive.
“She had a very sweet, helpful, forgiving and protective spirit,” said Briene Newton, Brittany’s sister. “She was truly loved by her family and to know her was to love her too.”
A qualified team of specialists from the “Montefiore-Einstein Transplant Center” in The Bronx performed the double transplant surgery over two days in April.
And now, seven months later, Nieves he met Brittany’s family, who traveled to New York. Doctors gave the Newton family stethoscopes to listen to Brittany’s heartbeat inside Miriam’s chest.
“She came at the right time. She hated the way she came along, but she came at the right time,” Britanny’s mother Bridget Newton said. “My daughter is still walking.”
Edwin Feliciano, Nieves’ son, added that the whole family is very grateful. “My children benefit a lot from this and I have four. My brother’s children benefit from this,” Feliciano said. “We benefit from this and I hope everyone knows how grateful we are.”
“God put Brittany in my life so she could have a second chance and meet my new family,” Nieves summarized.