Gift of Life: Howie's House is a home away from home for transplant families

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia's seven transplant centers draw patients from across the country. Along with them come families uprooted from their homes.

There's a special place where many stay called Howie's House.

Gina Adams and her daughter Kemiyah of Harrisburg, Pa., were recent guests.

They told us how their transplant journey started in Harrisburg.

"I was in my room, Kemiyah recalls.

She was listening to music the day before Thanksgiving, when out of the blue...

"I remember kind of like falling, like off of the bed," she says.

"She was lying on the floor, crying," Gina says.

"The words that's coming out of her mouth just doesn't make sense," she explains.

Gina didn't know till the next day at a hospital that her 15-year-old daughter was having a stroke.

"There was a blood clot on her brain," she says of her surprise looking at her daughter's CT scan.

A clot brought on by heart failure.

Within hours, Gina, Kemiyah, and brother Kane left Harrisburg for Children's Hospital, where doctors said Kemiyah needed a new heart.

For Gina, 100 miles from home, Howie's House became an oasis.

It's the brainchild, and named after, former Gift of Life CEO Howard Nathan, inspired by out-of-town families he and his mother met when his sister got a liver transplant.

"That struck me at that moment, that part of the transplant process is that families have to be cared for," says the Howie's House founder.

"In general, hospitals don't have hospitality for family members," he adds.

Since opening in 2011, Howie's House has provided 100,000 nights for families awaiting transplants or follow-up visits.

"We're thankful for them because we're able to have something to eat every day and somewhere to sleep," Gina says.

Dinners are made by the Home Cook Heroes.

"Every night at 6 o'clock, there is a home-cooked meal by volunteers in our great kitchen," Nathan says.

Transplant families meet, share stories, and support each other there.

There's also an exercise room, a game room, and organized activities.

Now back in Harrisburg with a new heart, Kemiyah made a happy return to high school.

"Without that gift she wouldn't be able to attend school," Gina says gratefully.

Howie's House is full almost every night, so someday it may have to be expanded.

But right now, the Gift of Life is focused on new organ donors.

If you haven't signed up as a donor, it only takes a few minutes.

Click here: Sign-Up-to-Save-Lives