A Canadian mother decided not to spend the anniversary of her son’s death mourning death but rather celebrating life.

Kim LeBlanc spent the day with the person who received her son’s heart, saving her life.

On May 31, 2012, Kim’s son Tyler was killed in a tragic accident.  He was walking along a street, listening to music on his headphones, and stepped right in the path of a tractor-trailer.  Tyler spent two days on life support but showed no signs of brain activity.

LeBlanc said at that point, donation was a “no-brainer.”  Tyler’s heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys and eyes were donated.

Tyler’s heart went to Dave Allingham, 40-year-old father of three.  Allingham had a genetic heart disease and had about 30 days to live if he had not received the heart.

“I can’t tell you how many times a day I said this over and over to myself, ‘If there is some family out there that is going to give me that unconditional gift of love, I would spend the rest of my life giving back.’ I never forgot that promise,” he told the Spectator.

On the third anniversary of the accident this year, LeBlanc joined Allingham at a cycling event to raise money to battle heart disease.

“It was my first time and a bittersweet day, but the ride itself was great and the emotions were very strong and powerful,” she told the Toronto Sun. “It’s a very good feeling knowing we were able to take a tragedy and to have something good come from it, so that really meant a lot.”