OTTAWA HILLS, Ohio — A local girl is living her teenage years to the fullest, all because one man's family said yes to giving the gift of life.
Rose Hajjar doesn't take anything for granted. She loves to play piano and a variety of other things 15-year-old girls enjoy, "I love to dance and sing with my sisters. I'm part of the choir group. I play softball. My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family," Rose said.
Rose is thriving now, but much of her young life was spent in the hospital as she was born with a congenital heart defect.
"I had four open-heart surgeries before I was 10," Rose said.
Rose's mother, Joy Hajjar said Rose did well for awhile, but a complication called protein-losing enteropathy developed.
"We tried treatments and endured hospital stays and really exhausted every option until the doctor told us really the only hope for a healthy future, was with a new heart," Joy said.
Ten months later that new heart came from a young man named Michael who died in a tragic accident.
The families would meet a couple years after the transplant.
"Both of our lives changed drastically when we met because the connection is so real," Joy said.
"They are like family to me. I love them. I talk with them almost every day," Rose said.
After recovering, Rose began living a way she didn't even know was possible.
"I felt so much better. It was like, 'this is what it feels like to be healthy,'" Rose said. "I feel very much like it has changed my life, changed the way I feel and perceive life even"
Rose said she appreciates the little things and will forever be grateful to Michael and his parents' willingness to say yes to organ donation.
"I know that I got this gift for a reason and I do not want to take it for granted. I just want to live in the moment," Rose said.
To register to save lives, click here.
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