SALT LAKE CITY (KTNV) — One of the most precious things is the gift of life.
A Utah woman, Ashley Stewart, is alive today after an Arizona woman, Raquel Colucci, tragically passed away during a trip to Las Vegas.
Because she was an organ donor, Colucci was able to save the lives of five people through organ donation, helped heal up to 75 people through tissue donation, and gave the gift of sight through eye donation.
Meet Raquel Colucci
Colucci was full of life and her husband, Gino, remembers their happy times together.
"I met her when I was 15 years old and we met at Foster Park in Chicago. She had this cute, cracky voice. She was shy but when her personality came out, it drew me to her," Gino said. "When COVID hit, that was a difficult time. It was a scary time. But in hindsight, it was kind of a blessing for our family because we got a lot of bonding time together."
Gino said Raquel had recently been promoted and to celebrate, they decided to come to Las Vegas in March 2022.
"We never planned our getaways. Whatever felt right, we did. Everything was going perfectly. We had an amazing couple of days in Vegas," Gino said. "We were going to go to Fremont Street but we decided to go get some breakfast and walk around the hotel. We were at the Sahara."
Gino said for some reason, things felt different than normal.
"We were never this couple that says I love you every day or every time we talk. We said it when we meant it," Gino said. "For some reason, it just felt like that time. We were walking back to the hotel hand-in-hand, in vacation mode, completely chill. We expressed our gratitude for where we are as a couple. Here we are in Vegas, celebrating a promotion, just a spontaneous trip, 24 years together, still madly in love."
That's when things took a turn for the worse.
"She started complaining of a headache and the headache got bad really fast. This time, it was bad and she said it was the worst headache she's ever had in her. life. We called 911. It was pretty scary," Gino said. "Just being alone with her in the ER, in another state, it was the worst experience I've ever had in my life."
Raquel had a brain aneurysm, which couldn't be fixed.
"There were interventions that could have been done but too much time had passed before they realized what was going on," Gino said. "That aneurysm was so deep inside her brain, there was nothing that could be done."
Gino said many family members were able to make it in time to say goodbye and they knew Raquel would want them to donate her organs.
"She's literally the most selfless person you would ever meet so we knew it was in her heart to do so," Gino said. "I would say that was the best decision we've ever made. The Nevada Donor Network did an Honor Walk and that kind of helped give it some closure. It was really tough walking those halls with her and everyone lined up paying their respects. It was kind of beautiful knowing what she was doing and the impact she had."
One of the people that received Raquel's organs was Ashley Stewart, who received her heart.
Meet Ashley Stewart
Stewart was pretty healthy for most of her life but says she remembers the moment something felt off.
"I remember being at lunch with one of my friends and I noticed that I could hardly eat and I couldn't walk back to the car. I knew something was wrong with me but I didn't know what it was. I waited until later that evening and I looked down and my ankles were swollen. I looked it up on Google and decided to go to the hospital," Stewart said. "They told me I was having a minor heart attack. That's when I was diagnosed with cardiac myopathy and heart failure."
At the time, Stewart was 26 and she said she couldn't believe it.
"I was in denial. There's no way it's possible. I ate clean. I exercised every day. I never missed my medicine. I felt fine."
A few years later, she had COVID, which led to additional health issues.
"I later ended up with a blood clot in my heart and I had never had a blood clot before. All of the blood was pooling in my heart above one of the valves. I was put on blood thinners and I think that was the big thing that made me decline very quickly," Stewart said. "That is when I decided that I really needed to start thinking about being listed."
In order to get on the heart transplant list, doctors had to adjust Stewart's medications.
"The dose that I was on was too low so the blood clot that was in my heart broke off and went to my brain and I had a stroke," Stewart said. "That put me in the hospital and I stayed there. I couldn't leave. I was too sick. They got me listed very quickly on the transplant list. I was a status two, which is pretty high, and I received my heart in two days."
Stewart said she was terrified and had made plans in case she didn't make it.
"I actually had a spreadsheet, I have it on my computer, of all the things just in case like passwords and things like that," Stewart said. "There was always a thought that I might not live but I think I accepted that and I was okay with that and I just thought if I wake up here, then there's still work for me to do and my journey's not done. But if I wake up in heaven, I've done all I'm supposed to do."
Honoring Raquel
Stewart wanted to thank Raquel's family for her heart and sent them a letter of gratitude.
"I thought I'd probably never hear from them because it's not often that donor recipients and families get to meet or talk," Stewart said. "I wrote to them expecting nothing back. I received a letter from Melody, [Raquel's daughter], just saying how great it was hear from me and how great to know that I was doing okay and a few things about Raquel."
WATCH: Melody Colucci reads Ashley Stewart's letter
"The letter was incredible," Gino said. "In fact, I filmed reading it because I knew it was going to be super emotional. It couldn't have been more perfect. I don't think her heart could have gone to a more perfect person."
Gino said Raquel loved dogs and babies and they were blown away after receiving a Christmas card from Ashley, which included news about her child.
"[Our baby] was a surprise gender, which we thought was pretty exciting. About two or three days before she was born, I was in the shower and just thinking," Stewart said. "The thought kept coming to my mind Jane Raquel. I just kept thinking that would be special if we had a daughter and we could name her Jane Raquel after the woman who gave me a great gift."
Gino and Melody said they wanted to meet Stewart, which Stewart said was going to be difficult for all of them.
"When I learned that my donor family wanted to meet me, that they had written a letter to me, that day, for me, was so hard. Just knowing that a real person with a name and a family had passed away. Even though I knew that before, that made it more real to me," Stewart said. "It's hard for me to think about but I'm grateful. I'm nervous that they will see me alive and doing well and her mom, his wife, she's no longer here and that makes me sad but I'm excited to get to know them and I'm excited to learn more about them and Raquel."
The two families met last month in Salt Lake City and Gino and Melody got to hear Raquel's heart beating in Stewart's chest for the first time.
WATCH: Colucci family hears Raquel's heart beat in Ashley Stewart's chest
Gino said it was a special moment and he knows Raquel is looking down and smiling.
"It just came together like wow. This was her purpose. It sucks because her dream was to be the best mom and she wanted to be the cutest old lady you've ever seen but she obviously had something bigger planned for her," Gino said.
Gino said after this experience with Stewart, he hopes he gets to meet more people that Raquel saved.
"When we found out that everybody is successful and everybody's doing well, it sent shivers throughout my core," Gino said. "We heard back from the lung recipient as well and can't wait to meet them too."
To learn more about being an organ donor, you can visit the Nevada Donor Network's website by clicking here.
