What love and kindness has brought together. Heather Krueger and Chris Dempsey wed earlier this month after meeting over a medical crises, [for Heather]

Chris Dempsey wed 27-year-old Heather Krueger and got married earlier this month, one year after first meeting as complete strangers during a medical emergency

Chris had voluntered to donate half his liver to Heather,  who at 25 had stage four liver disease and needed a transplant

Chris didn’t know Heather, simply heard his coworker’s cousin was in dire need of a donor

He got tested, was a match and became an organ donor in an 8 hour marathon surgery

Affection grew into love, the pair got married in Frankfort, Illinois, a year after Chris commited to saving her life

Heather told Chris during their wedding (pictured) that he is the most incredible man she has ever known. Before her knight in shining armor came along, she was told she had less than a 50 percent chance of living for more than two months

A gallant former marine saved a damsel in distress and has just wound up marrrying her. The Illinois couple just tied the knot, one year after meeting as strangers when he voluntered half his liver to save her from a potentially fatal stage 4 liver desease
The 8 hour life-saving liver transplant surgery saved Heather Krueger who was 25 when she was diagnosed. Doctors told her she had less than a 50 percent chance of living for more than two months.
Former Marine Chris Dempsey overheard a coworker say that his cousin needed a liver transplant, with no donor in sight as many the potential donors failed one or all of the three essential conditions: Good health,  same blood type, and similar sized a liver.
Chris told BBC: ”I just thought to myself, I would want someone to help me or my family in that situation”.

After the carriage ride, it was off to the top of the Hancock Building to ask Heather for her hand in marriage

 ‘Because of you, I laugh, smile and I dare to dream again’

Heather (right) and donor Chris checked into the University Of Illinois Hospital for the procedure in March 2015 

Chris vlountered to test as a donor. Bingo! Heather found her match and in the process, her prince charming.
‘I spent four years in the Marine Corps and learned there never to run away from anything. So I just said to myself, ‘Hey, if I can help, I’m going to help,’ ‘ Chris, who now works as a code enforcement officer, told CBS.
Now was the little matter of meeting Heather for the first time. The young woman was in throes and shock of the diagnosis she had just received.
‘By that time I could really feel my body shutting down,’ she said.

 

Happy couple on their wedding day with family and friend

Chris and Heather side by side in hospital, having survived the marathon operation

After Chris called Heather to tell her he was a match, pledging to set up a fundraiser to help pay for her medical bills.  Recalling the sequence of events after so many prior disappointments. Heather who dared not raise her hopes, told the Chicago Tribune: ‘I could not believe it. My mom started crying,’  she said. ‘I knew he was a good possibility, but until I got that phone call…
‘And then he wants to do a fundraiser. It’s just unreal.’
Heather and Chris had lunch together and discussed the transplant, all on his tab. Both checked into the University Of Illinois Hospital for the procedure in March 2015.
The marathon transplant operation, which involved removing about half of the donor’s liver and lasting more than eight hours, was quite successful.
Chris gave Heather half of his liver and both recovered, well enough to tell the tale.

 

The engagement night, riding around Chicago in a horse drawn carriage

See their story

Mutual ‘deep feelings’ before the surgery turned to love, then an engagement

As they got healthy again, Heather and Chris’ relationship deepened. They had feelings for each other before the procedure, but didn’t dare speak out, thinking it would be strange.

in an interview with Today, Heather recalls ‘He had told me at the beginning of everything, “You owe me absolutely nothing for this. We can go our separate ways if that’s what you want,” ‘  she said.
‘It was kind of like, we do have this special bond, but is this just because I’m sick that I’m feeling this way? You had to kind of separate that, but after the surgery, I realized it went beyond that.’
Smitten Chris proposed to Heather in December after a romantic night that included a visit to the top of the Hancock Building and a carriage ride. The marriage was earlier this month, Heather serenaded her groom in her vows: ‘You are the most incredible man I have ever known,’ she told Chris.
‘You believe in me and you make me feel amazing every single day. Because of you, I laugh, smile and I dare to dream again.’