"He was 3 weeks old I guess, when he stopped breathing and he was having what we thought were sleep apnea spells,” says Tanya Williams.

Days later, little Eric William's heart started failing.

Doctors discovered he had congenital heart disease, which includes seven heart defects. Since then, he's had three open heart surgeries and a valve replacement.

"It saved his life,” says Tanya.

But that life-saving valve had to come from somewhere—another little boy who died at the age of three.

“I can’t imagine at the most difficult time of their life making such a hard and yet giving decision. It was amazing to me that they had the presence of mind to make that decision during that time,” says Tanya.

Tanya says they weren't told who Eric's donor was, but as the old saying goes, sometimes the heart never forgets.

"He had run up and grabbed this lady by a leg and was holding onto her and I went over and said ‘Oh my, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!’ And I took him away and I said ‘C'mon Eric,’ and she said ‘Eric?’ And I said ‘Yeah’ and she said ‘Eric Williams?’ and we had only exchanged letters until then because they don't allow you to meet, and we both started crying,” says Tanya.

That woman was the mother of Eric's donor, Seth Good. After that meeting at an organ donation symposium, the families still share the special bond.

"I love them,” says Eric, “Because they're kind of nice."

Though a stroke after his first heart surgery left Eric developmentally delayed, and he still faces more valve replacement surgeries as he grows older, Tanya says her son lives his life with his whole heart. And looking back, she wouldn't change a thing.

"It's made him who he is and I couldn't imagine him any other way," says Tanya.

Valentine's Day is also Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Day, and Eric's mom Tanya says improving research on the condition has also helped to keep her son alive.