WEB CHUTNEY

Nearly 10 years after Jeni Stepien’s father was killed, the man who received her father’s donated heart traveled from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to walk her down the aisle.

Arthur Thomas received Stepien’s father’s heart when Michael Stepien was killed during a robbery in 2006.

After the transplant Thomas kept in touch with the Stepien family, but he only met Jeni on Aug. 5 after she wrote to ask him to walk her down the aisle as her father could not be there. She wrote:

“Dear Tom,
I’m the daughter of the man whose heart is inside you, and I’m going to get married on August 6th.

One further thing, if you’re willing, would you walk me down the aisle?’”

After he walked her to the altar, Mr Thomas put her hand on his heart, gave her a kiss and then handed her over to her groom, Paul Maenner.

The bride touched Mr Thompson’s chest during the ceremony and cried.