this has been in the barrel for about three weeks -- or two weeks now. >> and you keep on topping it off? >> absolutely. we are tiny. in the last several years, we've made under 2,000 cases of wine. we're gonna be creeping up to about 3,000 or so this year. so, that in and of itself, just being small is very unique, so that when you come here and enjoy the wines, you get a very unique experience. there's literally nothing between the grapes or the vines that those grapes come from and you and the wine. when people come in to taste the wines and i get to bring them in the cellar and show them what we're working on and see them enjoying the wines, it's a lot of fun. it feels good, of course, because you see people enjoying the product that you worked really hard on. so, that's super gratifying. >> what's impressive to me is that we produce a product that people enjoy in all aspects of life. it's sort of a hidden gem. not many people know about it, but when they do make it up the hill and try the wine, they end up loving it. >> cheers. >> cheers. >> [ shouts indistinctly ]

♪ >> there's so much to explore in the bay area, so we'll be back with more stories to share. in the meantime, we want to hear from you. so send us your favorite places, pictures, and videos of the bay area. all this fun driven by your northern california honda dealers. for more information on the vehicle featured in this episode, visit norcalhondadealers.com. ♪ ♪ ♪

it's "gaming with america's best internet provider" internet. just any internet. it's "all your teenagers streaming at once" internet. it's "i can get up to one-two-three-four-five mobile lines included" internet. it's internet from xfinity that makes your life... simple. easy. awesome. get a special offer on xfinity internet and tv for $35 each a month for 12 months when you bundle both, and ask how you can save on your wireless bill when you include xfinity mobile click, call or visit a store today. millions of dead trees, extreme winds. our weather is becoming more extreme, and we all need to work together to keep our neighborhoods safe.

i'm lisa veliz waweru from pg&e. at pg&e, we are accelerating our forest management work in high fire-threat areas, removing dead trees, trimming branches and creating 12-foot safety clearances around power lines. for more information on how to keep you and your neighborhood safe, visit pge.com/wildfiresafety my mom about my birth mom and her answer was, i'm your mom. why do you want to know about her. >> then when he was in his 20s, both his adoptive parents and brother died. in a span of two years, all the family he's known gone. >> that would be crushing for many people. >> i was depressed for years. >> reporter: it wasn't till the birth of his own daughter now 3 years old that rob first decided he would try to find his biological mother. >> reporter: what information

did you find out? >> i got the nonidentifying adoption records from the state. >> reporter: this is it. >> that's it. found out my mother was catholic and 16. that's all it says in what was this information like for you as limited as it is? kfrth, reassuring, frustrating? >> before i got this, she was a ghost. that's solid information my mother existed. >> reporter: a glimmer of hope but nothing that brought hill closer to finding his birth mother. it was just four months after that that cancer would strike. acute mile local leukemia. he's immediately admitted to the hospital for a 30-day stay and begins chemotherapy. >> i thought he was going to die. he couldn't even stand. he started losing his hair. >> this morning, his doctor told us that he's going to need a bone marrow transplant. we were told it's better with family members. >> i don't like to ask for anything. it feels like greed.

>> you're asking -- nour asking for a $50 loan. potentially to save your life. >> from someone who i never met and made a conscious decision to you know, remove me from her life. >> then just a month after his initial progress know sis is, finally some good news. >> i'm in remission. >> yea. >> less than 30 days from my admission. >> i was in full remission which was even now, it's like, you know, it's a gift. it was a gift. >> moves you still. >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: but his doctor says there's still about a one in three chance it could return. and a bone marrow transplant isn't off the table. rob still has to undergo four more rounds of but rob's greatest fear isn't for himself. it's for his daughter. >> mwah. >> you don't have memory at 2

years old. >> i love you. >> look what i got for you. >> my fear is her not knowing me and me being you know, kind of washed away like a sandcastle. >> reporter: with no type to waste, pam intensifies her search focusing first on finding his original birth name. >> when you are born, you are given a birth name. it's your original name. once the adoption takes place and you're legally adopted your birth certificate is amended. >> reporter: his amended certificate reveals he was born in queens new york. using that information along with his mom's age pam uncovers his original last name. garza. >> what i immediately started to do was try and comprise a list of all female garzas who would be roughly 16 years old at the time that rob was born. i beak got as far as i could. >> reporter: next she pours through his ancestry.com dna results searching for any leads

that could whittle down her short list. >> he had a pretty close match that i immediately honed in on? >> reporter: a match that seems to be related to other garzas. >> i knew once i was able to contact her that his case was going to start to unravel. >> hey, how are you? i know this is weird, but i'm a professional geneologist. >> reporter: pam is able to coax roe into naming all of her known siblings. >> wow, okay. >> one person that she had said to me over phone was deborah, and the alarm bells went off because deborah garza was on my short list of potential birth mothers for rob. >> i'm pretty sure that robert's case is solved. i'm just afraid about you know, making that phone call because i'm going to be really upset if his birth mother senior not taupe contact. >> reporter: but when pam calls deborah, she gets hung up on. >> that next morning i starred

getting text messages from rob's birth mom. i would like to know more about what you're looking for. >> i'm not an advocate of dropping information through a text message but i had no choice. so i wrote back i'm helping someone who is adopted. he was born in 1972. and then it was amazing. the complete tone of the text messages changed. i had a son in 1972. i had to give up for adoption. i think about him every day. >> reporter: pregnant at 16, deborah garza says her mother made her hide her pregnancy in shame. she delivered babseionoed me out so i wouldn't see the baby when the baby was born. i guess it was a lawyer who came in with my mother told me to sign this paper.

sign this paper, sign this paper. i asked him what is it? don't worry. just sign these papers. so my mother told me sign them. so i signed the papers. >> reporter: those paper terminated her parental rights. >> i never got to see him. and i was told get on with your life. you're still young. you'll have other kids. how? i was a mother. no matter what, i was a mother. >> reporter: being an unwed mother was a huge stigma at the time. >> not only were they treated as though it was a shameful experience, but then they weren't able to grieve. you're losing your child essentially. >> reporter: coming up, a mother and son prepare themselves. >> i don't know how i'm going to >> reporr:or conversation they never thought would happen. >> deborah. >> yes?

so you need people that it iyou're close to...r footing, to help guide you. i think about how important it was for me to have the role models i've had.

oh, look at that! i wasn't able to get there alone. he essentially plucked me out of obscurity. he's the one who said, "hey man, this is your life, this is what you need to do." nobody can do it alone. the more help you can get along the way, the faster you can achieve your goals. i'm in it to fly. ...to help people achieve their dreams. ...to speak for those who can not. whatever you're in it for... ...we're in it together.

"nightline" continues. byron pitts reports. >> turn left to merge onto the state parkway north. >> i'm walking into someone's life and delivering really sensitive, emotional information. >> reporter: investigative geneologist pam slayton is on her way to rob martin, adoptive leukemia an patients searching for his birth mother for years without success. your biggest fears opening that door. >> rejection again. i don't know if she thought of me. she made that decision not to have me in her life. that would be great. i would love to have a mother. we will see i guess. i didn't think i would be this anxious. >> pam? >> we finally meet. >> come on in. nice to meet you. >> pull you over. how are you? how are you feeling? >> i. >> i feel great. >> you look good. >> pam walks rob through what she found. >> first things found.

your name at birth was garza, g-a-r-z-a- >> okay. >> nice to meet you. >> wow. >> reporter: then she reveals the identity of his birth mother. deborah garza. >> wow, deborah garza. >> was 16 when you were born. she absolutely did not want to give you up. you okay? let me let you get a breath. she wants you to know she loves you very much. >> wow. wow. >> so here's the other thing. she wants to talk to you tonight. >> oh. >> i didn't give her any information about you. she doesn't know what you've been going through with the

leukemia. i didn't want her to think that you know, you were searching for her for that reason. >> i don't want to you know come back in the first thing i do is i start asking for stuff. >> reporter: pap gives him his birth mother's phone number and heads out. >> all right, enjoy. >> it's pretty heavy night. i don't know how to feel about it, to be quite honest. it's weird. i mean finding out that she exists. yeah, my head is like -- >> reporter: the idea of speaking to a biological family member for the first time is it never racking for any adoptee. but rob has another hurdle to overcome. how to break the news to his birth mother that she's sick. >> i don't know how i'm going to handle this phone call. >> reporter: in virginia beach, deborah anxiously awaits rob's phone call surrounded by rob's two half siblings, mandi and jr and their children.

>> you ready? >> reporter: an hour after pam leaves, with his wife jackie by his side, rob finally makes the call. >> hello. >> hi, yeah. deborah? >> yes. >> this is -- it's rob. your. >> your name is rob? >> yeah, yeah, rob martin. >> martin? >> yeah. >> wow. >> it's great to hear your voice actually. it's very strange. >> yeah. >> i never expected this day to come. >> i never did either. i always dreamed of this. >> always, i never forgot you. >> that's -- that's amazing to hear. >> i didn't know anything about you. i didn't know where you were. i didn't know who adopted you.

i didn't see you after you were born. who's your mom? >> jacquelyn martin. she was a nurse actually at that hospital. >> so she knew my mama. >> rob and deborah piece together that their mothers both worked at the same hospital and must have arranged for the birth and adoption to all happen under their control. then rob decides to share what he's been so nervous about telling to his birth family. >> i do want to tell you something. i'm battling leukemia right now. i'm in remission. i don't want you to think i searched you out for anything but to know where i came from and for my daughter to know where she came from. if you look me up and you see me being sick, i don't want you to think it's because i want bone marrow or anything. >> if you needed it, i would give it. >> oh, man. are you okay though? >> he's got one more month.

>> one more month of chemo. i went into remission fast. >> reporter: rob's newfound family offering that life line if he ever needed it and they promise to meet after he finishes his cancer treatment. >> this is one of the greatest days of my life. i want you to know that. >> this is the best day of my life. let me tell you. i can't wait to see your face now. >> oh, my god. i'm so happy for you. >> i was literally ripped from her body and given away to strangers. my mother had answers for me and her mother had answers for her and bowing of them chose to take it to the grave with them. we both got denied any information. so it's almost like we've had the same existence for about each other for the last 45 years. which is heavy. there we go. >> reporter: a week later. >> excited? >> yeah. i'm anxious.

>> reporter: rob is getting what he hopes will be his last chemo treatment. >> now we're running. >> that marks the end of five months right there that slow drip. >> i'm going to disconnect it. >> thank you so much. >> yea. >> reporter: the next month. >> how going to go see? >> deborah and her family have come up from virginia beach to meet rob for the first time. >> just want to see him. and had close, i'm excited. can't wait. >> how you feeling about today? >> i don't know. i mean i'm pretty nervous about the whole interaction, the initial interaction. meeting someone in person for the first time whose blood, it's new. it's definitely new.

>> my heart is pumping. this is nerve-racking. >> want to meet your family? there she is. >> my god. >> hi. >> that's grandma. >> hi. >> hi. >> hi. >> hi. >> my god. >> give me a hug. o oh. >> reporter: in this life, there are moments with feelings so deep, emotions so raw, there are no words. >> i've been waiting for this 45 years. >> i never thought it was going to happen. >> i always knew it was going to happen one day. i never gave up hope. >> are you going to touch him the whole time you're here? >> yes, i am. >> reporter: it seems there was a point where both of you thought the other wouldn't want to see the other. >> i did want him.

i was told just forget, move on. you'll get over it. you'll have more kids. >> do you ever get over it. >> no, i never got over it. now, now. now i'm over it. oh, now, yeah. >> the siblings piece together they grew up in the same neighborhood in new york city. >> this is like a big complete puzzle right now. >> there's no way we did not -- >> grew up in the same streets and everything. even though reweren't together, we were still together. >> now he's got a big family. >> cheese. >> certainly there are regrets, what ifs. and the sweet unanswerable question what truly comes next. >> cheese. >> we've been told that will deborah and rob are now two peas

in a pod. in fact, rob and his two new siblings celebrated their birthdays together for the very first time. next the parents of matthew shepherd on his legacy and their continuing struggle in the battle for lgbtq rights.

"nightline" continues with byron pitts. this year marks the 20th anniversary of matthew shepard's death. his horrifying murder shocked the national conscience.

a watershed moment in gay rights history and turns his parents into accidental activists. when juju chang met them in wyoming to discuss their continuing battle to make something decent emerge from this unspeakable crime. >> you said i'm angrier now in some ways. >> i thought we were making progress. after the election, i'm so mad we are rexwresing. here we are again. >> matt shepard savagely beaten last week in wyoming died this morning. >> reporter: it's been 20 years hins sis murder become synonym mus with homophobic hate. his parents dennis and judy have turned their family's tragedy into a legacy of hope. but their fight for lgbtq rights is far from over. they point to a recent uptick in hate crimes underscoring what they say is a resurgence of

bigotry. >> if you're not a straight white christian man in this country today, i'm worried about you. >> reporter: her son was found beating beyond recognition, tied to a wooden febs and left to die. his murder sparking a national soul searching over homophobia but he was simply their son. describe him as a kid growing up, what kind of child was? >> he >> a pain in my butt. >> reporter: a classic son. >> a classic child. >> reporter: a pain in your butt in what way? miss achievious? stubborn. >> stubborn, argumentative. >> all those things. >> but it was something to look forward to. >> reporter: from early on they suspected and accepted that matthew was gay. >> he said mom, i'm gay. and i said what took you so long to tell me. i was like, i don't get it. how did you know before i knew? i said i guess it's a mom thing. >> reporter: even then they say

it was inconceivableable that anyone would want to harm their son. >> we didn't realize the amount of violence and discrimination against the gay community till after he died. we thought he's born here in wyoming. the middle of the united states. he's an american krids. he has all the rights, duties and privileges of every other or american citizen. >> reporter: especially in wyoming in the land of live and let live, they soon discovered beneath the sfarks intolerance was festering. on that cold day in 1e9 98, a cyclist rode past fencing and came upon what he thought was a scarecrow. instead a more heinous discovery. matthew barely clinging to life. >> well, he was all bandaged, face swollen, stitches everywhere. comatose position already. fingers and toed curled. one eye was a little bit open. i couldn't even have sworn it was matt till we got closer and i could see the tubes in his

mouth. i could see his braces and of course, that was matt. of course, it was. >> reporter: sheriff dave o'malley was assigned to the case. >> the things that i was initially able to determine was that the traumatic injuries to his face and his skull were likened to high speed impact crashes. >> reporter: as if he had gotten in a high speed car crash. >> exactly. extremely brutal injuries. he was actually struck between 19 and 21 times. specifically concentrated on his led. >> reporter: when did you realize how global a story this was? >> when the servers at the hospital began to crash with all the e-mail messages people from all the world inquiring about matt or having something to say. >> reporter: matthew laid in a coma for six agonizing days but then he slipped away. >> it still hurts. >> course it does. pictures come in your head and there it is again. >> reporter: it will never leave. >> you no. >> reporter: initially the local authorities thought it was a

robbery. >> but something went profoundly wrong for them to drag him out of a truck and tie him to a fence and beat him in the head and face with the butt helped of that big gun. >> that was no longer robbery. >> no, no, not at all. >> reporter: that was a hate crime. >> my opinion, yes. >> reporter: when we return, the two murderers behind the crime. and matthew's lasting legacy.

what does help for heart fait looks like this. entresto is a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. ♪ the beat goes on. yeah! ♪ ♪ the holidays begin here at the disneyland resort.

"nightline" continues with juju chang. >> matthew shepard died six days after he was found tied to a fence, beaten and tortured. according to prosecutors, two locals, 21-year-old russell henderson and 22-year-old aaron mckinney met matthew at a bar and lured him into mckinney's truck by pretending to be gay.

both were convicted of first degree murder. at the time hate crime laws didn't extend to cover sexual orientation. the trial becoming the crux for national debate around gay rights and bias. his murder made many examine the roots of prejudice and hate. >> it was mean spirited. homophobic and beak this investigation forced me to interact with the gay community many times. i feel kind of hypocritical talking about it because i flipped a 180 so quickly. it was just the way i had been for many years and interacting with these kids that were friends of matt's made me lose my ignorance quick. and it made me realize that my belief structures were based on what other people had told me. >> reporter: his murder basement inspiration for the laramie project. >> are you matthew shepard? he says yeah. >> reporter: the play performed more than 2,000 times in the u.s. trabs hateded into 13

languages. and immortalized in an hbo film. >> i would like nothing better than to see you die, mr. mckinney. however, this is the time to begin the healing process. >> to someone who refused to show any mercy. >> reporter: deb nis reread that letter at this year's 20th anniversary gala. >> i am going to grant you life as hard as it is for me to do so. >> reporter: what message were you trying to send to the perpetrator? >> i wasn't saying anything to them. i was telling it the world who matt was as our son and a brother that he was just an ordinary kid who wanted to make the world a better place. and they took that away from m.and frus. >> reporter: the sh solace knowing their son's legacy reverberates to this day with this generation of lgbtq youth like the outspoken skate ker adam rip upon who participated in the gala this year. >> the experiences i've been able to be have in the last few months, a lot of them are in

fort tore what are dennis and judy have been able to do with their foundation. putting a highlight on a lot of the discriminatory things that happen to lgbtq people has made the road easier especially for somebody like me. >> reporter: he was so moved by being in the play. >> thank you so much for being here. >> reporter: he flew to layer me to talking with teens. >> having my own struggle from when i came out when i was in high school to even have that ability to do that and to have the ability to have conversations like there even is something phenomenal. >> what do you want the legacy of matthew shepard to be? >> events around this 20th year anniversary really show that change is happening and that people care where continuing matthew's legacy. >> i want people to see wyoming as not just a random offensive red neck state that killed someone. i want them to see it as a place

that recognized that that's not okay. and started the changes around the nation to help fix problems. >> reporter: that legacy issive speiering a whole new generation. after years of social activism. >> this afternoon i signed into law the matthew shepard and james byrd junior hate crimes prevention act. >> reporter: even helping pass landmark legislation expanding federal hate crimes to include lgbtq victims. >> this is obviously incredibly important. >> that actually is a copy of the law that president obama signed making it official protecting lgbtq. matthe legacy, tionntueecni t recently laying his ashes to rest at the washington national cathedral. >> it's so important that we now have a home for matt. >> reporter: in this way, the sheppards continue honoring his name while keeping the memory of their son alive. >> he was smart, funny, people just were drawn to him.

it was a great loss, not just to us but to all his friends and people who hadn't met him yet. >> next, the youngest face transplant recipient in u.s. history. her new appearance giving her a second chance. transplant recipient in u.s.

so you need people that it iyou're close to...r footing, to help guide you. i think about how important it was for me to have the role models i've had. oh, look at that!

i wasn't able to get there alone. he essentially plucked me out of obscurity. he's the one who said, "hey man, this is your life, this is what you need to do." nobody can do it alone. the more help you can get along the way, the faster you can achieve your goals. i'm in it to fly. ...to help people achieve their dreams. ...to speak for those who can not. whatever you're in it for... ...we're in it together. it's "gaming with america's best internet provider" internet. just any internet. it's "all your teenagers streaming at once" internet. it's "i can get up to one-two-three-four-five mobile lines included" internet. it's internet from xfinity that makes your life... simple. easy. awesome. get a special offer on xfinity internet and tv for $35 each a month for 12 months when you bundle both, and ask how you can save on your wireless bill when you include xfinity mobile click, call or visit a store today.

"nightline" continues. once again, byron pitts. >> katie stubblefield is now a medical miracle. she's the youngest face transplant recipient in the united states. but four years ago, she seemingly had it all until a decision changed the course of her life forever. here is juju chang with this remarkable story of everyone liked her.

>> she's funny. very witty. how bright was her future at 17? >> i would say sky's the limit. sky's the limit. shooi she wasn't just driven for driven sake. she was driven for a purpose. >> reporter: alisa and rob say their daughter was a perfectionist, straight a student and promising athlete. >> they used to call her bulldozer. >> reporter: that drive pushing katie like so many teenagers could also problem toxic. >> she was getting ready to go to college and deciding where to go. >> reporter: that's stressful. >> very. >> reporter: but college never happened. katie's life flipped upside down after a failed suicide attempt. it led her to become the youngest face transplant recipient in the u.s. >> everybody says you don't know how much you appreciate life until you almost lose it. >> reporter: she was struggling with her health after an appendectomy in the midst of a stressful senior year, her

parents lost their jobs teaching at her high school in mississippi. >> how did your losing your job at the school she's at affect her? >> she absorbed it and it hit her deeply because i was her teacher sne. >> reporter: they say it become a perfect storm on that spring day four years ago when her boyfriend broke up with her. >> reporter: she was heart broken. >> sure she was. >> she was very heart broken. >> reporter: she leaves school early and drives to her older brother robert's house. i was like what are you doing home from school. i called my parents, just so you know, she's at my house. >> reporter: while robert's outside katie in an instant takes his hunting rifle into the barges puts it under her chin and pulls the trigger. >> that the point, i smelled gun powder. and i knew exactly at that point that what have had happened. she was dead as far as i was concerned. >> reporter: first respond others initially feared the worst but suddenly there's hope. >> they get in there and the

next thing we hear through a chain of voices is she's alive. we have a pulse. and just like that, the whole world turned on a time. >> reporter: she's rushed to the er and manages to mumble words of regret and an apology. >> when she was in the er in the triage, she said tell my mom and daddy love them and i'm sorry. >> reporter: she was able to speak. >> it took a lot of strength not doctors begin re-kruking katie's disfigured face. >> and there was a seasoned trauma guy surgeon. so he said this is the worst one i've ever seen. the only thing that will give her a life again will be a face transplant. that's the first time we heard the term. >> reporter: after a month at the hospital in memphis, she is transferred to the cleveland clinic. >> complicated surgery. >> reporter: overseeing her care dr. brian gasman. >> she was willing to fight for her life. >> to fight for her life, but to live her life. >> reporter: there has been a dark history of suicide or a

suicide attempt in this case. i mean, that must have made her a controversial candidate. >> being 17, 18 years old without any history of depression, with having the type of family support she has, it seemed that she just did something impulsive. >> reporter: to devote themselves to her care, katie and her family move into the ronald mcdonald house in 2014, facing a long road. national geographic began documenting the stubblefield story for the cover of their september issue. >> we're getting ready for katie's face transplant. she goes through these episodes where she stops. you know what i mean? >> i'm sorry. >> don't be sorry, katie. >> yeah, right there where your thumb is. >> reporter: her journey begins with more than 17 surgeries. they make a model of her sister's jaw to help with reconstruction. >> she was missing all of the skull over here. >> that's incredible. she will could have settled on a

reconstructed face but she wanted more waiting for a donor face. all while knowing that day may never come. >> she didn't just want her face back. she wanted function. >> she wanted her life back. >> she wants life back. >> reporter: in may 2017 after a year on the transplant list, a potential donor. her name adria snyder, a 31-year-old single mom who had struggled with addiction and died of overdose. adria had been raised by her grandmother sandra who now had a profound decision to make. would she will consent to this unusual gift. >> if adryia was willing to donate her organs, whied she need a face? you know, i still wrestle with that every now and then. i thought about it, prayed about it. this is the right thing to do. so someone else can have maybe a better life. >> reporter: coming up, katie undergoes her history-making procedure but 24 hours into her

surgery, her parents are forced to make a

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of "nightline" continues. juju chang reports. >> reporter: it's the day of katie stubblefield's surgery. where she hopes to become the youngest recipient of a face transplant in the u.s.

>> hi. >> i just want to say thank you so much for giving me a second chance at life. >> reporter: cameras are rolling as she says good-bye to her family and baembarking into the unknown. >> i love you. you do great, okay? >> love you. >> best transplant ev >> reporter: the planned 30-hour surgery is for a partial transplant. but almost 24 hours into the marathon procedure, a plan b begins to emerge. maybe they could perform a full facial transplant. >> dr. gasman came to us and said this is where we're at. we were going to start here. but now we are at the place to where we are expanding the tissue to where we're here. and is this okay to go here? >> reporter: rob and alisa must decide if they're willing to

risk infection, even death to give her a full face transplant. >> the more we think what she would want -- >> she signed the consent. >> yeah, there lies the answer. >> reporter: so they go for it. after 31 hours on the table with nerve endings and blood vessels restored, katie finally has her new full face. >> yeah. >> katie? i know you're out of it. >> reporter: now more than a grueling year of rehab after the surgery, katie still has a long way to go. >> i feel whole again. >> your skin looks beautiful. >> reporter: she is still adjusting to life with a new

nose, no lips and new outlook that most of us take for granted. the now 22-year-old still doesn't have her vision back but she says it's improving. >> i'm so glad i see shadows. >> reporter: you can see shadows. >> silhouettes. >> reporter: four years after first arriving in cleveland, katie and her family still live at the ronald mcdonald house. her her parents overseeing everything from therapy to her anti-rejection medications. >> ready? >> uh-huh. >> this is the cooling stuff. i know you love it. >> reporter: it's clear she never lost her esence. ♪ ain't no mountain high enough ♪ >> reporter: what makes katie katie. she still has to undergo more procedures including getting a new pallet which will enable her to improve her speech and her ability to land a punch line. >> banana. >> banana.

banana. >> singing the edited version, aren't you. >> yeah. >> reporter: when i first met katie, she had just been taken to the er. the health risks ever present. >> you in a lot of pain right now? >> reporter: her feeding tube popped out leaving her with a painful wound on her side and dr. gas man right there as always doting on his patient. >> thank you. thanks. >>. >> reporter: what is it that draws you into her? >> you know, when you have a daughter that age, when you's what's going on in their lives, college, maybe a family, and i was hoping you know, so much that i col actually try to get her back to some level of track like i would want for my own kids. >> reporter: the extensive costs well over $1 million in total mostly covered by the defense department. but she's not just helping future wounded warriors.

she's also honoring her donor. katie insisting on thanking adria's grandmother in person. >> i'm sandra. >> how are you? >> it's so good to meet you. you look beautiful. >> thank you so much. for your kindness and what you've given me. >> it's your gift. >> reporter: katie now sees her life as a lesson for others about preventing suicide. >> an amazing gift. life is beautiful. >> reporter: what do you hope for down road? >> i have a strong desire to help people.

and people will see me as another person. >> reporter: she can now blend into that crowd to enjoy life's simple pleasures. >> it's better than good. >> better than good. thank you for joining us tonight on this special "nightline" in primetime. you can catch us every weeknight after "jimmy kimmel live"" right here on abc and on our facebook page. thanks for the company america, good night. camp fire in butte county is

really so you need people that it iyou're close to...r footing, to help guide you. i think about how important it was for me to have the role models i've had. oh, look at that! i wasn't able to get there alone. he essentially plucked me out of obscurity. he's the one who said, "hey man, this is your life, this is what you need to do." nobody can do it alone. the more help you can get along the way, the faster you can achieve your goals. i'm in it to fly. ...to help people achieve their dreams. ...to speak for those who can not.