On April 29, 2005, the day before her senior prom, Rachel fainted on a class field trip. The heart surgery she had endured four years earlier to repair arterial bridging had bought time, but now she needed a heart transplant to survive. Just one week later, Rachel received the heart of 16-year-old organ donor Ransom Tipton of Georgia, whose family she met in January 2007 when the Tipton-Smith family was featured on ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’. The Rose Parade will offer a most meaningful reunion of the Ball and Tipton-Smith families, highlighted by Rachel and Missy’s side-by-side walk in tribute to Ransom.

Rachel's Story

While warming up during volleyball practice, 14-year-old Rachel Ball collapsed.. To the shock of everyone, this previously healthy teenager was diagnosed with arterial bridging. Her heart was surgically repaired, and though she lived with a defibrillator, she was able to resume the normal life of a high school student without incident -- until her senior year.

It was April 29, 2005 – the day before her senior prom, and she was on a class field trip to the Columbus Zoo when she fainted. Her defibrillator did not respond, and she was life-flighted to Columbus Children’s Hospital. The news was not good, but Rachel was placed on ECMO. Within days doctors told Rachel’s parents, Mark and Diana, she needed a heart transplant to survive. On Wednesday, May 4, 2005, Rachel was listed for a transplant. While the news was exciting for Rachel’s family, doctors were unsure if her heart would sustain her transfer to an alternate life support mechanism. The system she was on was breaking down. And if she survived the switched, no one knew if Rachel would receive the transplant in time. Rachel was dying.

On the morning of Thursday, May 5 – less than 24 hours after being listed – the Ball’s learned there was a heart for Rachel. The family felt sheer joy in knowing Rachel would receive her transplant; but they also felt tremendous sadness and appreciation for the donor’s family. Rachel’s surgery went well, but because she was so sick pre-transplant, she had a long road to recovery. She graduated from high school while in the hospital, and when she was released in late July 2005, she wore her prom dress, since she never made it to her senior prom.

Rachel is so thankful for her gift of life, but her story never felt complete – she wanted to meet her heart donor’s family.

Rachel’s wish came true in January 2007 when ABC’s 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' called. The Tipton-Smith family of Waleksa, Ga. was selected for a home makeover, and had a wish, too: to meet their son and brother’s heart transplant recipient. Ransom Tipton died May 4, 2005 – three months to the day following the fire that burned the family’s home to the ground. He was an organ donor and saved five lives, including Rachel’s.

As part of the episode, and as a surprise to the family, ABC, with the help of Lifeline of Ohio and Lifelink of Georgia, was able to arrange for the families to meet. The Balls were unsure about the proposed meeting at first; Rachel and her parents worried about how Faith and her daughters would react to the surprise. But any fears subsided the moment show host Ty Pennington introduced Faith Tipton-Smith to Rachel. Diana describes the intensity of that moment as “extreme”. Group hugs, tears and words of gratitude were exchanged. A lifelong bond between the two families was formed.