(Editor's note: This is the second part in the story of Neil Ahner II's journey of the heart. Having received a heart transplant 22 years ago, Neil celebrated by throwing a huge party.)

Neil Ahner II, now of Jonas, celebrated his 39th birthday on July 18. But 22 years ago, he was given another chance at life, sort of a rebirth. It was the day of his heart transplant.Neil wanted to share this anniversary with all his family, friends and supporters as his gift to all of them."I didn't think of it for the 20th anniversary and I could be dead before my 25th. So I did a 22nd anniversary celebration," he says, well aware that survival rates for heart transplant patients vary according to their overall health status.Rejection is the main cause for a shortened life span. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 80 percent of heart transplant recipients survive the first two years post-transplant. About 70 percent of patients reach the five-year mark and 50 percent live for 10 years or more with a donor heart.The longest living heart transplant recipient is 72-year-old John McCafferty of England. This October will mark his 32nd year."The fact that heart transplant recipients from that era are far and few between makes it that much more special," says his mother, Sandie Ahner.To celebrate, Neil sent out 326 Facebook invitations to a party. Everyone must have accepted, bringing spouses, children and friends, because the pavilions and grounds of Indian Mountain Rod and Gun Club was a packed house. Through the combined efforts of everyone, there was more than enough food. So much that the Ahners donated the leftovers to their neighbors, VALOR Clinic.Neil loves kids and he made sure there was lots for them to do: face painting, grab bags with sunglasses, bubbles and squirt guns. But the bouncy house was the cherry on top. It was filled all day and night until the last guest left. Adults played bean bags, horseshoes and volleyball.Lives he's touchedGuests included doctors, nurses and technicians who have been a part of Neil's journey. Lynn Kerschaw, Neil's primary care nurse at St. Christopher's Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, came with her husband and two daughters from Coopersburg, saying she wouldn't have missed it for anything. The Ahners have stayed in touch with her the past 22 years."She is the reason Neil is still alive," Sandie says.Neil's older brother Kyle and wife, Erika, say many things make Neil special but it is his kindness and generosity that endears him to the them.Watching Neil grow up with the heart problems and getting a second chance at life made Kyle realize how fortunate the rest of us are and how we take our health for granted.When Neil went into the hospital for the last time before the transplant, Kyle braced himself for the possibility that Neil would not be coming home. "We as a family are eternally grateful for the transplant and Neil's second chance at life," says Kyle. "Erika didn't know him at that time, but getting to know him and seeing his capabilities amazed her since he can do just about anything and doesn't let his situation slow him down. Life would not be the same without him."Sandy and Neal Galgon of Lehighton, friends for 40 years, were also at the party."Sandie has always called us the other Sandy and Neal. My daughter was almost born on their couch. So I was there when young Neil was born, when they learned about his heart murmur, and was there for all the surgeries that followed. We became friends of Neil's as he got older."Sandy registered to be an organ donor shortly after his transplant.Neil doesn't like to talk too much about the past. Instead, he likes to talk about his family and friends who have been so supportive throughout his life. He went to school in the Palmerton School District through seventh grade."I pushed myself to keep up with friends. It didn't work sometimes. But they understood," says Neil.The family moved to Jonas and he began eighth grade at Pleasant Valley Middle School. He had to repeat eighth grade because he missed too much school with 11 hospitalizations in one year. He only attended classes six days as a Pleasant Valley freshman and never was able to return because of the transplant. After the surgery, he was tutored at home and did four years of high school in two years. He graduated in 1995.After the surgeryNeil doesn't remember a lot about his surgery. He hears his mother talk about it and sometimes he'll say, "I didn't know that."He had to relearn how to walk and to talk.Neil and his parents thought he would finally find out what it would be like to be a normal teenager.Remarkably, he went deer hunting that November. Neil's grandmother gave him a gun that his grandfather had given to Neil's dad when he started hunting. He didn't get a deer and he fell a few times, but he was thrilled to be out with his family and friends. The following year went better and he could walk further."This was a quality of life I never had before," he says.DreamsHe dreamed of someday getting married and being a father. He has not realized that dream, much to his disappointment. But, he is grateful for what he does have."My family and friends mean everything to me," he says.Besides his parents, his strongest supporters are his sister and husband, Lori and Glen Green, sister Tammy Green and partner Dean Shade, brother and his wife, Kyle and Erika Ahner. He has five nephews, one niece and a great-nephew on the way.Besides hunting and fishing, Neil is a big NASCAR and San Francisco 49ers fan."Transplants don't last forever. I don't regret it, but I don't want to do another one," he says.His mom says the last 39 years have been long, "But worth every minute. When he smiles, it makes it all worthwhile. He is a walking, living, breathing miracle."Sandie can't thank organ donors enough."Transplants are life-saving and donors are God's angels here on earth enabling others to live. We thank God every morning Neil awakens, every night when he heads to bed, and hundreds of times throughout the day, that a grieving family chose to share their loved one's heart 22 years ago to save our son ... our miracle son."