New 12's Kevin Vesey spoke exclusively to a Floral Park man who received an organ from FDNY firefighter Billy Moon, an Islip man who died in a training accident last month.
Terrence Jordan is also a fellow member of the FDNY. He developed a 9/11-related illness after he responded to the World Trade Center.
Jordan says he's eternally grateful for the second chance at life he's been given. He says he feels a special connection to Moon and his family.
The 64-year-old retired FDNY lieutenant had end-stage COPD and emphysema, which he developed after responding to Ground Zero after the September 2001 attack.
He might have died if he didn't receive Moon's lungs last month.
"I was in such bad shape from one moment. And now I look at myself and it's like I have a new lease on life because of the Moon family," he says.
Jordan needed supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day prior to the transplant. Since the surgery he's breathing on his own.
"It was like the best Christmas gift I ever received. A Christmas miracle," he says.
Jordan and Moon never crossed paths in the FDNY. But Jordan – a father of seven and grandfather of nine – says he hopes to one day meet Moon's family to thank.
"I didn't know him in life but I've been asking around to find out what kind of a fella he was, what kind of a guy he was. And he seems like my kind of guy," he says.
Moon's organs were donated five people.