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DURING BREAKS, IT WILL BE OPEN FROM 8 TO 5 AND ON VALENTINE’S DAY. MANY PEOPLE SPEND TIME WITH LOVED ONES OR EVEN LOVE INTERESTS. BUT FOR ONE KENTUCKY MAN, VALENTINE’S DAY LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR AS HE REUNITES WITH THE FAMILY OF HIS HEART DONOR. AND OUR MEGAN MATTHEWS HAS THIS HEARTFELT STORY. LOVE IS WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER ON A DAILY BASIS, WHETHER THAT BE FRIENDS OR FAMILY. BUT FOR DEWEY SCOBEE, LOVE COMES IN MANY FORMS, EVEN FROM THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY. I DIDN’T KNOW IF I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE SO WEAK AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE SUCH BAD NUMBERS. IN 2024, SCOBEE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE. LEAKY VALVES AND BUNDLE BRANCHES IN THE HEART, WHICH IS WHERE THE ELECTRICAL SIGNALS WHICH PUMP THE HEART ARE BLOCKED. MY HEART WAS ONLY PUMPING WHEN I GOT MY TRANSPLANT. WAS 2 TO 3%. THEY PUT A DEVICE IN CALLED AN IMPELLA THAT PUMPED MY HEART FOR ME. PUMP THE BLOOD OUT OF MY HEART FOR ME. DURING THAT SAME TIME, PATTI BRIGGS NEPHEW, ROCK, WAS INVOLVED IN A SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENT WHERE HE LOST HIS LIFE. LITTLE DID THEY KNOW THAT FROM A TRAGEDY LIKE THAT CAME A BOND THAT CAN NEVER BE BROKEN. AS SCOBEE RECEIVED ROCK’S HEART, SAVING HIS LIFE. IT WAS REALLY HARD FOR ME TO RECEIVE HIS HEART BECAUSE HE WAS 28 AND I HAVE A SON THAT’S 27. SO IT REALLY IT REALLY BOTHERS YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SOMEBODY HAD TO DIE TO FOR YOU TO GET BETTER IN 2025, SCOBEE AND HIS FAMILY TRAVELED TO PENNSYLVANIA, WHERE HE WAS ABLE TO REUNITE WITH ROCK’S FAMILY. IT WAS LIKE IT WAS MEANT TO BE. WE ALWAYS SAY THAT IF ROCK COULD HAVE PICKED THE PERFECT PERSON TO RECEIVE HIS HEART, IT WAS DEWEY. NOW, USING VALENTINE’S DAY TO NOT ONLY CELEBRATE ROCK, BUT ALSO HIS LOVE AND HEART THAT BEATS ON THROUGH SCOBEE. IT’S HEARTBREAKING FOR US, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE’RE ALSO HAPPY FOR DEWEY THAT HE GETS TO ENJOY HOPEFULLY MANY, MANY YEARS WITH HIS FAMILY AND GRANDKIDS DOWN THE ROAD. MEGAN MATTHEWS WLKY NEWS. MEGAN, THANK YOU. AND IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN
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Love that lives on: Man reunites with donor’s family after heart transplant
Patty Briggs’ nephew, Roc, was killed in a serious car crash. In the aftermath of that tragedy, the young man’s heart would save a man’s life.
Love is what brings people together every day, through friends, family and even people separated by hundreds of miles. For Duewy Scobee, that love arrived in the most unexpected way: through the gift of a stranger’s heart.Scobee’s journey began in 2024, when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, leaky valves and bundle branch block, a condition that disrupts the electrical signals that help the heart beat effectively. The decline was rapid and frightening.“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to survive,” Scobee said. “Because you had to be so weak, and you had to have such bad numbers.”By the time he received a transplant, Scobee said his heart function was nearly gone.“My heart was only pumping, when I got my transplant, at about 2 to 3%,” Scobee said. “They put a device in called an Impella that pumped my heart for me, pumped the blood out of my heart for me.”While Scobee fought for his life, another family was living through heartbreak. Patty Briggs’ nephew, Roc, was killed in a serious car crash. In the aftermath of that tragedy, Roc’s donation of his heart would save Scobee’s life. “It was really hard for me to receive his heart because he was 28,” Scobee said. “And I have a son that’s 27. It really bothers you that, you know, somebody had to die for you to get better.”In 2025, Scobee and his family traveled to Pennsylvania to meet Roc’s loved ones, turning a story of loss into one of connection. For Roc’s family, the reunion brought comfort in knowing Roc’s legacy continues.“It was like it was meant to be,” Briggs said. “We always say that if I could have picked the perfect person to receive his heart, it was Duewy.”Now, as Valentine’s Day approaches, both families say the holiday carries a deeper meaning, one that honors Roc and the life his donation made possible.“It’s heartbreaking for us,” Briggs said. “But at the same time, we’re also happy for doing that. He gets to enjoy hopefully many, many years with his family and grandkids down the road.”You can learn more about how to become an organ donor by clicking the link here.
Love is what brings people together every day, through friends, family and even people separated by hundreds of miles. For Duewy Scobee, that love arrived in the most unexpected way: through the gift of a stranger’s heart.
Scobee’s journey began in 2024, when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, leaky valves and bundle branch block, a condition that disrupts the electrical signals that help the heart beat effectively. The decline was rapid and frightening.
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“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to survive,” Scobee said. “Because you had to be so weak, and you had to have such bad numbers.”
By the time he received a transplant, Scobee said his heart function was nearly gone.
“My heart was only pumping, when I got my transplant, at about 2 to 3%,” Scobee said. “They put a device in called an Impella that pumped my heart for me, pumped the blood out of my heart for me.”
While Scobee fought for his life, another family was living through heartbreak. Patty Briggs’ nephew, Roc, was killed in a serious car crash. In the aftermath of that tragedy, Roc’s donation of his heart would save Scobee’s life.
“It was really hard for me to receive his heart because he was 28,” Scobee said. “And I have a son that’s 27. It really bothers you that, you know, somebody had to die for you to get better.”
In 2025, Scobee and his family traveled to Pennsylvania to meet Roc’s loved ones, turning a story of loss into one of connection. For Roc’s family, the reunion brought comfort in knowing Roc’s legacy continues.
“It was like it was meant to be,” Briggs said. “We always say that if I could have picked the perfect person to receive his heart, it was Duewy.”
Now, as Valentine’s Day approaches, both families say the holiday carries a deeper meaning, one that honors Roc and the life his donation made possible.
“It’s heartbreaking for us,” Briggs said. “But at the same time, we’re also happy for doing that. He [Scobee] gets to enjoy hopefully many, many years with his family and grandkids down the road.”
You can learn more about how to become an organ donor by clicking the link here.
