Emotional moment groom shares wedding dance with woman who got his late mother's lungs in live-saving transplant

Published: 16:58, 28 July 2026 | Updated: 16:58, 28 July 2026 A Texas groom honored his late mother at his wedding by dancing with the woman who received her lungs via organ transplant. Matthew Firth joined hands with Carrie Giddens at his nuptials, a nod to his late mother Amy, who died in 2012 aged just 38 from blood clots on her brain.  Giddens had struggled with cystic fibrosis for decades but found her quality of life transformed after receiving Amy's lungs.   'The fact that he wanted to dance with me — not in place of his mom but to be able to dance with a piece of his mom on his wedding day — it was an honor,' Giddens said in an interview with KWTX.  The dance not only celebrated a piece of Amy but highlighted the connection that her donation created between Firth and Giddens. 'It felt like it was Carrie, but at the same time … my mom's lungs are literally her lungs, so it was as close as I was going to get to that,' Firth said.  According to family members, the two have grown closer through special events such as anniversaries, birthdays and now Firth's marriage.  'The relationship has developed over time,' Firth said. 'Now, not only does it not feel weird to be around her, but it feels right.'  Groom Matthew Firth shared the mother-son dance not with his own mother but with Carrie Giddens, the woman who received his mother's lungs 13 years ago Amy Firth passed away in 2012. Her lungs were given to Giddens, who struggled with cystic fibrosis her whole life and was on life support before receiving the transplant Carrie Giddens expressed her gratitude for the chance to see her sons grow up, continue to be a wife, and adopt a daughter. All because of the gift of life Amy's donation provided Giddens is a mother of three, with two being twin boys who were toddlers when she received the transplant. Giddens expressed her gratitude for the chance to see her sons grow up, now being in high school, as well as the other joys Amy's gift of life provided. 'Not only did I get to be a mom still to my boys and be married to my husband and still be a wife, but we adopted my daughter.'  Firth is the grandson of John and Margaret Henderson, who continue Amy's legacy through their work with TRIO Central Texas, a nonprofit support group for transplant recipients and donors.  They serve on the board of the Amy's House Foundation, which acts as a transplant hospitality house in Bell County.  'There are two parts to the story,' John Henderson said as he expressed wishing more people would consider becoming an organ donor.  'There is Amy's tragedy, but there is the story of Carrie who got the gift of life from Amy. I've always been proud of what Amy did in life and what she did in death as well.' Firth's family mentioned a phrase that a relative said that will always stick with them. 'Amy did the breathing, and Carrie did the dancing.'