The amazing story of how the passing of young Christopher Gregory, a college student, contributed to the survival of five other people, is told in the love drama “2 Hearts.” Through the contemporary miracle of organ transplant, the movie focuses on the interaction between Gregory’s life and Jorge Bacardi of the Bacardi conglomerate family. Eric and Grace Gregory were the persons who were closest to the unbelievable series of events and to the young guy whose demise started them. Let’s get to know them and learn about their current situation.
Eric and Grace Gregory: who are they?
Christopher Gregory, who passed away abruptly in March 2008 due to a burst cerebral aneurysm, was born to Eric and Grace Gregory. At the time, the 19-year-old was a freshman at Loyola University in New Orleans. Eric and Grace were devastated by his passing and had no idea the ripple effects their son’s death would cause. Eric and Grace were Baltimore residents at the time of that tragic event. John, Colin, and Christopher, their youngest son, were their three sons.
At the time, Eric was employed by UPS as a risk manager. Christopher had expressed a desire to have his organs donated before he passed away. The amazing medical and logistical process that led to Christopher’s organs being transplanted into people who were battling for their lives was witnessed by his devastated family as they carried out his wishes and sought to come to grips with the loss.
A few months later, they got a letter of appreciation from Jorge Bacardi, owner of the Bacardi drinks company, who they ultimately discovered to be the writer. Eric eventually had the opportunity to meet every donor who had donated his son’s organs, and he and Grace also got to know Jorge and his wife Leslie. The Bacardis contributed to the creation of a care facility that offers lodging for people receiving long-term therapies and the people who are caring for them.
The care home is named in honour of Eric and Grace’s late son and is situated on the Mayo Clinic hospital campus in Jacksonville, where Jorge received his life-saving lung transplant using Christopher’s lungs. On March 17, 2011, they also participated in and spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new residence.
Eric was moved to write and share these stories as a result of the experiences he experienced in the final few days of his son’s life and the days that followed. He describes the extraordinary procedure and effects of organ transplantation, as well as the emotional empathy of those around him, in his 2017 self-published book “All My Tomorrows: A Story of Tragedy, Transplant, and Hope.” The same year, he enrolled in Santa Clara University’s Jesuit School of Theology to pursue a Master’s degree in theology while promoting organ donation and investigating how it intersected with his Jesuit convictions.
Eric and Grace reside in Cave Creek, Arizona, where Eric currently works as a writer, speaker, and volunteer for the Donor Network of Arizona after quitting his almost 30 years-long position with UPS in 2018. According to what we can learn, Grace, a registered nurse, is currently employed in Pheonix. The two enjoy spending time with their families and grandkids. Grace has expressed her gratitude for Christopher’s memory being preserved through her husband’s book, the community supporting organ donation, and most recently the film “2 Hearts.” But it seems sense that the remembrance is bittersweet.
