There was an emotional reunion for a New Jersey resident and the people who saved his life.

Lou DiChiaro was diagnosed with heart failure in 2016. In 2025, his heart function had severely declined.

Just days after being placed on the heart transplant list, DiChiaro received a new heart.

“I owe a lot to them and Newark Beth Israel. They have an excellent heart transplant team. They saved my life and I have a second life…I got a second chance at living,” he says.

DiChiaro is a former baseball player who had a stint in the Baltimore Orioles Minor League system.

He says he is now living his best life, teaching athletes at his baseball academy in Fair Lawn.