smiles oh the way she smiles yeah ♪ ♪ she's talking to angels she's counting the stars making a wish on a passing car ♪ ♪ she's dancing with strangers she's falling apart waiting for superman to pick her up ♪ ♪ in his arms yeah in his arms yeah she's waiting for superman ♪ ♪ and she smiles she's talking to angels she's counting the stars ♪ ♪ making a wish on a passing car she's dancing with strangers ♪ ♪ she's falling apart waiting for superman to pick her up ♪ ♪ in his arms yeah oh in his arms yeah she's waiting for superman ♪

♪ to lift her up and take her anywhere show her love and climbin through the air ♪ ♪ save her now before it's too late tonight she's waiting for superman ♪ she's waiting for superman ♪ she's waiting for superman ♪

tonight on "nightline" -- last chance. a young woman fighting for every breath. her lungs failing. her only hope is this transplant. a young man with huge dreams. and the tragic twist of fate that brought them together. with so much at stake the incredible story inside the operating room. >> sound good. >> and then a haunting question -- whose ultimate sacrifice will let her breathe again. >> gives her life literally. >> and exclusive interviews -- president obama and first lady michelle give their first joint

television interview this year with abc's barbara walters. >> announcer: this thanksgiving special edition of "nightlin

good evening. i'm avencynthia mcfadden. happy thanksgiving to you. gratitude is the word of the day as thoreau once said my thanksgiving is perpetual. so of course it should be. some gifts are bigger than others. and the story we will tell you tonight, one mother any gift given in grief ended up saving another young woman's life. two families joined by an unbreakable bond. >> how have you been? >> lindsay and diana never would have thought that the day before thanksgiving they would share a few special moments together.

sure they were both new yorkers, but from first glance they were from such different world that didn't seem to be any reason their paths would cross. >> i got my family and friend to write you letters and stuff. >> reporter: and yet they now have a connection as deep as they come. 26-year-old lindsay struggled for every breath she took. thanks to diana that she is here today. >> a gift you can't buy. right, amazing. >> a gift of life, literally. we have known lindsey from the desperate days when every breath seemed it might be her last. it was 2011, she had a good job at a hedge fund in new york. everything she had ever wanted. except for the most important thing. >> hi, nice to meet you.

>> a future. lindsay was dying. >> i am 26. i should be out every friday, saturday night. out at the bars having a couple drinks. not worried about medicines the next day. >> reporter: at age 2, lindsey was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a disease that causes music to build up in the lungs. >> growing up i did chest physical their people every day. started with my parents clapping on me every day. >> reporter: little realerally. >> literally here and then on my back. my lung capacity by the time i was 18, 19 years old was telling me i needed a lung transplant. >> she joined the organ donor list and waited and waited. while things got rapid leap worse. >> i couldn't do much of anything. i could really finally tell that i was sick. i mean i still wouldn't admit it. i wouldn't say, like i didn't

feel well. i just -- i couldn't do things. >> after seven months on the waiting list, she was deteriorating fast. >> patients who come to see me are really sick. and they're going to die if i've can't help them. >> that was lindsey's case. the doctor is her surgeon. >> imagine if i took 80% of your lung away. how you would function. lindsey will die if she doesn't get her lung soon. her mother knew without the transplant, lindsey wouldn't seep another birthday. >> i used to go to her apartment every day, when she got sick and du do her therapy. i would walk to work knowing, my daughter was dying before my eyes and nothing i could do about it. >> reporter: on the morning of april 4, 2011. the call came that just might save her life.

>> oh, my god. i got the phone call. abc news is there. >> oh, my god. >> i love you, good luck. >> they called. they said they have a potential match. it will be for real. as soon as my mom called she was screaming you. got to call. you got the call. i never heard. >> the only three word that could come out of my mouth. i couldn't have any other word. >> reporter: while lindsey and her family head to new york presbyterian, dr. jonathan yang is heading across town. and if everything is in tiptop shape we will accept the organs. it will be heartbreaking if they weren't healthy and we would have to reject them. >> checking into the hospital, lindsey knows this is her only chance. fear takes second place. to reality.

i wouldn't have the attitude i have or -- or the strength i have if i didn't have a support system that i have. i fight for them more than i fight for anything else. >> what's the name of the patient? >> lindsey -- >> this is them. >> that's jonathan. >> i think it is well within reason. >> a match, not perfect. but a match. >> we're a go. >> yep. >> legally organ donors, remain anonymous. all lindsay knows is that her donor is a man, 18, from new york. >> i love you. >> love you too. >> all right. >> are you okay? >> okay. >> game is on. >> it is on. >> absolutely.

let's get loose and find something more comfortable. >> i need some big ones in a second. in this case anything could happen. >> cystic fibrosis lungs when we take them out, they're wet sponges full of infection, literally heavy. >> that was a lot of work. can i have the lung. >> reporter: the surgery is more complicated than expected. if the takes eight hours. >> the two lungs in, one at a time. >> reporter: things start to go wrong. >> what? >> what do you think is going on? >> just continuous flow. there is no -- just, going. >> i hate that. >> right now, we are using that one lung to keep her alive. >> the resistance in the lung increased and the right failed. >> let's go. >> that won't be good. >> god -- it. >> tense moments. but in the end -- hi.

>> hi there. >> all good. >> all good. >> yeah. congratulations. >> for her, it went perfect. for me it was a hard night. >> five months later, lindsey decide to put her new lungs to the test. the surfing test. >> that is some sand in my face. >> everybody is here to watch me surf. i really can't blow it. >> the air is cold. the water is warm. >> go, lindsey! whoa! good job, lindsey! >> this is awesome. >> life was indeed awesome. but lindsey was haunted by a deep nagging question. whose death allowed her to live? >> i have to remind myself, he would have passed away whether or not i was getting his lungs or not. i had no control over that situation. and the only thing that i can really do is live my life to the extent that i am showing him honor. he is definitely part of me.

he is why i am here. >> when we come back, we will all meet the aspiring chef, whose lungs still give breath to lindsey. >> very delicious. very delicious. i think we both are clean freaks. i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get.

[ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet. you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor. if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself.

it might be the hardest choice a mother could ever make. to let go of her own brain dead child so that a patient in need can receive the gift of life. but for any one waiting for a heart, liver, kidney or lungs from tragedy comes hope.

we're back with incredible story of two families whose lives collided. a lung transplant has saved linds lindsey's life, but she says she can't rest until she knows who saved her. >> reporter: a new chance at life, whose death allowed her to live. the question gnawed at her. >> all i know. he was 18 and male. >> reporter: usually that is all she would ever have known. lindsey was determined to get an answer. at lindsey's reap quesquest, th note work contacted the donor's family. they also wanted to meet. they too had a story to tell. adrian rodriguez was a real charmer. a high school senior, a beloved only son.

>> i would grab my tablespoon. >> reporter: he had nothing much to his name, except the outsized talent. >> his passion was mostly cooking. >> he thrived on the manhattan's lop lower eastside. a commute that was well worth it. the school principal -- >> the first time i met adrian he bounced into my office with a tray of pastries in one hand, cucumber salad in the other and said, good morning, i am chef adrian. and i thought he was the culinary arts teacher. >> adrian created his own cooking show. >> caller: the school's college adviser helped adrian apply for

scholarships to culinary schools. >> we'll have to put the applications, he went out there and made this for himself. adrian had his eye on the future. >> very delicious. very delicious. >> he was a young man who really committed himself to this dream of being a professional chef. but also, to this absolute generosity of spirit that said -- i am here world, let me know what i can duo for you. >> april 1st, 2011, adrian rodriguez was leaving for school. >> adrian was -- running to school. excited about the day. wearing new shoes. shiny shoes. and he -- he slipped on the subway platform. >> reporter: a slip. and as the train pulled in. he fell. the train clipped his head.

>> and the police called the school and -- asked for the principal. and the police officer said is adrian rodriguez your student? and i just -- my heart stopped. i said, why? why? he said, we need you to contact his family. and need to come to bellvue, it is serious. >> he left at 7:00. at 8:00 i received a phone call. >> she met at bellvue hospital. they waited. and waited. >> i had to wait six hours. by those six hours. >> reporter: six hours. >> six hours. just to see him. day told me he was in bad condition. i was in a panic mode. i dent knidn't know what to say think. diana was taken to her son's bedside. her skull was fractured. in the twilight between life and death. he was gone.

but his organs were intact. he was still on a ventilator. >> it wasn't -- it didn't look like my son. he was all in this tubes. he was cold, i was holding him. talking to him. you remember me, adrian. come back to me. adrian, what happened. >> reporter: at 10:00 p.m., adrian was declared brain dead. his mother was asked about donating his organs. >> i was like, no, no, it its not time yet. he is just 18. just a kid. just starting out. >> we spoke what it would be look without adrian. and, what it would be look without adrian. but with his heartbeating. in the end, diana made the only decision she felt she could. >> he loves to share. a good vibe. if he has the last candy he will give it up. >> reporter: one mother's loss would save another mother's

child. >> all i could think of that day was how lucky we were and how unfortunate she was. i mean, as a mother, i just can't imagine how she felt that day. and we were just so grateful and some how i just -- hoped sheep kn -- hoped she knew how grateful we were and her son saved my daughter's life. >> reporter: but the circle was still not complete. they needed to meet. awe whau >> what do you say first? i am sorry for your loss. thank you so much you, have no idea how much you changed my life. i don't want to put it in her face how amazing my life is and how great i am doing because her son is not here anymore. and that stinks. >> it is crazy to think she can put her hand here and you can feel him, it's hem breathing. i am breathing with him. >> reporter: it wasn't just diana and lindsey who share an unbreakable bond. three other people as well.

one, who received adrian's heart. another, his pancreas. a third, his liver. together, they make a new kind of family photo. >> one, two, three. >> well i look to hear look all the stories about him. not that i wasn't trying to live up to it before. now i feel like i have an even higher bar. >> reporter: some new goals too. >> i want to take a cooking class. that's what he was into. i am not a very good cook. i am hoping maybe he will help me out. maybe i will be better about it. >> reporter: there is a funny kind of bond i would think. adrian is part of you. >> he is definitely part of me. he is why i am here. i think about him every day. when i went snorkeling. i literally was snorkeling, going like this, can you believe we are here? can you believe we are doing this? i am here, you did this for me. like, how cool its this? >> on this day when we each count our own blessings, remember diana and lindsey and

adrian too. and what it is possible to give one another. two weeks after his death, adrian's mother found out he had won that prestigious fellowship to the cooking school of his dreams. you can find out more about organ donation on our web site. so, what is the president most thankful for? barbara walters knows. next. [knock] no one was at home, but on the kitchen table

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barbara walters has interviewed every president since richard nixon. president obama is no exception. this is her fifth interview with him. barbara at the white house at the holidays has become almost as iconic as the turkey itself. this thanksgiving, the president and first lady sat down with her to talk about their hopes for all of us. >> mr. president, do you have a thanksgiving message?

>> there are a lot of people out there who work hard every day, do right by their families. but are still working through some of their ravages of that big recession that we had. my message to them is -- know that every day i am going to be working as hard as i can on your behalf. you know americans -- i think deep down, care about each other. and want to do the right thing. >> you know i want americans to remember that even as we draw down our troops, we still have men and women serving abroad. and i just want america to keep those people close to their hearts and to serve them as well as they have served us. >> how will you be spending thanksgiving -- >> family and service. we will be working with mission continues, a nonprofit that allows veterans to continue to serve. we are going to be at the capital area food bank which we have gone to several years now. and then we are going to eat good food. >> watch some football. a wonderful time.