For more than four years, Croy West’s heart has beat in a stranger’s chest. The Gwinnett County child born with a metabolic disorder died a week before he turned 12, and his parents opted for organ donation.

“We didn't hesitate. We knew he had to live on in others,” said his mom, Debi West, who's been cautious about talking publicly about the family’s loss. “I didn’t want it to come across as, ‘Feel sorry for us.’ ”

But this year has been especially hard. Croy would be 16 now, a significant, absent milestone. West is visual art department chair and fine arts co-chair at North Gwinnett High School, and some of Croy’s earlier classmates are now her students.

And she and her husband, Chuck, and daughter, Carson, 15, received a special love letter a few days before Valentine’s from the anonymous recipient of Croy’s heart:

“I think about him every day of my life. Without him, I could not breathe. Without him, I could not dance. Without him, I could not hug or kiss those I love. Without him, I could not be a daughter, a sister, a mom, a wife. Without him, I could not live. Thank you from the bottom of my and your son’s heart for this priceless gift.”

“She calls it our son’s heart,” Chuck West said.

Inspired by the recipient’s heartfelt words, the Wests are sharing their story in hopes others might decide today to consider organ donation.

“Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to just be about Hallmark,” Debi West said. “We’re not screaming loudly that you have to do this. We just want everybody to be educated.”

A sun-kissed boy

Croy was born July 22, 1996.

“He was healthy, beautiful,” Debi West said. “He met all the milestones.”

At about 18 months she noticed his speech patterns and motor skills seemed stunted. After an illness left him lethargic for days, she called 911. Croy was ultimately diagnosed with a urea cycle disorder, a complication that can make it hard for the body to shed ammonia from the bloodstream, according to the National Urea Cycle Disorders Foundation. The Wests managed Croy’s condition through careful monitoring of his diet and medications, and family photos show a sun-kissed boy climbing a tree with his sister or enjoying the ocean.

“We loved surfing together,” Carson said.

When Croy fell ill during a beach vacation in the summer of 2008, the Wests initially didn’t panic.

“It didn’t seem to be life-threatening,” Chuck West said.

At first it seemed Croy would recover, but he suffered seizures and brain swelling as a result of spiking ammonia levels. He was put into a medically induced coma and on dialysis in an effort to stabilize him, but on July 14, 2008, the family posted crushing news on Croy’s CarePages.com site.

“Our angel Croy’s heart is still beating but the Croy we know has gone to Heaven,” it read. “If you would like to come and say goodbye to him, please come now.”

Despite their devastation, the Wests immediately embraced organ donation and have clung to each other ever since. They travel during holidays now, rather than gather around a Christmas or Thanksgiving table with one less place setting.

“It’s the new normal,” Chuck West said.

“Faith is an amazing thing,” Debi West added. “We know that he is in a better place. We know that God needed his angel back. We know we were blessed to be his parents.”

LifeLink Foundation of Georgia is the state’s organ procurement organization. Senior public affairs coordinator Kaysha Cranon explained that hospitals contact LifeLink representatives, who then work to facilitate transplants.

“It’s our responsibility to determine if the person was healthy enough to donate organs,” she said. “We talk to the family.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 117,000 people nationally waiting for an organ, according to the United Network of Organ Sharing, the private, nonprofit organization that manages the nation’s organ transplant system under contract with the federal government. Of that number, there were nearly 3,750 people in Georgia waiting for a transplant, Cranon said, the vast majority awaiting a kidney. More than 50 needed a heart.

In a state of nearly 10 million people, about 4.4 million are designated organ donors, Cranon said.

“It is my goal to educate as many people as possible,” said Cranon, noting that people can register to be an organ donor when you get or renew your driver’s license or at donatelifegeorgia.org.

“One organ donor can save up to eight lives,” she said.

Croy lives on in five different people. His lungs and liver were damaged but his eyes, kidneys and heart were eligible to be donated.

“Five people are living a better life because of my baby,” Debi West said.

Late, yet right on time

Donor and recipient families remain anonymous to each other, but may correspond through LifeLink. After a period of regular communication, if both parties request it, the organization can help them meet.

“It’s touching,” Cranon said of such reunions. “It’s humbling to know the recipient is here because someone gave them the gift of life.”

The Wests had received a few other letters from the recipient of Croy’s heart, but there had been no word for more than a year. They wondered if she had become uncomfortable, or worse. As it turns out, she wrote the eloquent letter in July 2011, but a paperwork snag held up. It arrived last week, more than a year late and yet just at the right moment.

“I think I personally really needed this letter this year,” said Debi West, whose own heart pounded when she saw “LifeLink” in the return address. “It just about knocked me over. I had to sit down to read it.”

The card’s preprinted words said “straight from my heart.” The recipient added, “and your son’s heart. I love you all so much.”

The Wests have responded and hope one day they will be able to meet Croy’s recipient and feel his heartbeat again.

“She seems like she’s going to be this really beautiful person,” Debi West said. “It’s great to know she’s doing well. It helps a teeny, tiny bit knowing his heart is still beating.”