Quincy C. Collins/ Caller-Times

What began as a Corpus Christi boy's curious question about his mother's job led to a second chance at life for a 29-year-old Willis woman.

Annette Valle describes her 11-year-old son Joshua Toro, who died from an accidental gunshot wound July 17, as a good-hearted boy who was shy but full of questions.

"He had a big heart, Valle said recalling the times Joshua would bring home stray dogs and cats. "He was very, very happy and very innocent."

Valle can still remember when her son struggled to figure out what she really did when she worked for the Legacy of Life tissue procurement department. After she explained her work and why tissue and organ donation is important, he asked her if she was an organ donor.

"I said that I was and asked him, 'Are you a donor?' " Valle said. "He said, 'I want to keep my bones but you can take my insides,' " she said. "I told him to remember that I was a donor because I figured that I would be the first to go, but it was the other way around."

Joshua's heart saved Heather Cline, a 29-year-old Conroe area mother of two who, at 26, survived a massive heart attack that left 25 percent of her heart functioning.

"I'm glad she is there for her kids. I'm glad the kids have their mother," Valle said.

Valle was among 15 South Texas donor families honored Sunday afternoon at the Southwest Transplant Alliance's annual donor family recognition ceremony at the Art Center of Corpus Christi. Each family, like Valle's, had a story to share about their deceased family members and the chance to save another person's life through organ donation.

Valle and her family met Cline for the first time Saturday. For Cline, the celebration was a chance to thank Joshua's family and other families giving the gift of life to others.

"I wanted to say 'thank you' for being a donor family," Cline said. "It allows people who are sick like me to have a second chance at life."

Cline waited three months for a heart that doctors deemed compatible for her petite body, she said.

Cline said she was feeling well Sunday, but the road to recovery had been difficult. Ten days after her operation, her body began to reject Joshua's heart. Since her doctors diagnosed her in February with lymphoma she has undergone surgery and chemotherapy.

Sophie Longoria, a Southwest Transplant Alliance regional service coordinator, said donation is an anonymous gift. Though Valle's family members met only the recipient of their son's heart, it's healing for donor families to come together and share their experiences.

"It's not just meaningful to that donor family, but for all donor families," Longoria said.

For Ernest Sanchez and his family, the donation of his brother's heart was a way to keep his memory alive. The family traveled from McAllen to attend Sunday's ceremony. Victor Sanchez, 35, of Corpus Christi, died July 24 from gunshot wounds the day after he was shot by his roommate and another person, according to official reports.

"That was the best way to keep his spirit alive," Sanchez said. "He was a kid at heart. It doesn't ease the pain, but it helps that he is still with us in some way or the other," Sanchez said.