College Student and Toddler She Babysits Share a 'Special Bond': They're Both Heart Transplant Survivors (Exclusive)

“I just love that there's somebody in his life that will understand him in a way that his father and I can never understand,” Joseph McKinney's mom says

North Carolina college senior Hannah Ackman has an unexpectedly "special bond" with the toddler she babysits: They both had successful heart transplants at Duke University Hospital.

“He is the sweetest thing,” says Ackman, a 21-year-old senior studying animal science at North Carolina State University.

The 1-year-old, Joseph McKinney, loves playing with his sitter. But more importantly, his parents say, Ackman understands what he's experienced.

“I just love that there's somebody in his life that will understand him in a way that his father and I can never understand,” says Joseph's mother, 28-year-old teacher Elise McKinney. “It's my prayer and my hope that that relationship will be one where he feels like they can talk about things that might be transplant-related, like being a medical kid and living with a transplant.”

Ackman agrees, saying, "You really can't understand it unless you've been through it."

Born in January 2023, Joseph appeared to be a healthy, happy baby. When his mom returned to work after her maternity leave, she brought her newborn with her to the Montessori classroom where she teaches grades 4, 5 and 6.

Her students read books to him, when he wasn’t napping in the classroom.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Then in late May 2023, little Joseph got a cold. “He just couldn’t kick it,” Elise says. “He was eating less and less.”

His parents took him to the pediatrician multiple times, but they were told everything looked fine.

On June 16, 2023, he started breathing rapidly so his parents rushed him to the emergency room near their home in Raleigh. Joseph was diagnosed with heart failure and transferred to Duke University Hospital.

An MRI showed that the left side of his heart was scarred beyond repair from lack of blood flow.

“He basically had a heart attack, either before he was born or after he was born, that injured his heart muscle,” explains his physician, Dr. Michael Carboni, the medical director of the pediatric heart transplant program at Duke University Hospital.

“We think that before he was born, somehow the blood flow to that part of his heart got disturbed — either a clot or something — and then didn't allow the muscle to develop the normal strength that it would need to function," Carboni says.

Joseph's parents say they agonized about the decision to have their newborn go through the major medical procedure for a heart transplant.

They also looked for support. Elise's best friend went to high school with Ackman’s older sister — and the mutual friend connected the couple with Ackman’s parents, who walked them through the heart transplant process. “Which was really helpful,” Elise recalls.

Joseph was placed on a heart transplant list on July 23, 2023. He received a new heart just 12 days later, on Aug. 4, 2023.

“He gets a second chance at life. We're just so grateful to have him,” says his father, 27-year-old Robert McKinney, who works in human relations. “We are incredibly grateful for how many little miracles occurred every step of the way. It's really been the greatest suffering and the greatest joy at the same time.”

Joseph, now 20 months old, is a happy little boy who loves dogs, cars and trains, his parents say. And he’s going to become a big brother this winter — his mom is due in January.

“It's a miracle,” Elise says of the successful transplant. “We are a living miracle.”

In June, Elise reconnected with Ackman at their mutual friend’s bridal shower. Ackman, who had her heart transplant in 2016 when she was 13 because of a genetic cardiomyopathy, mentioned that she babysits, Elise asked if she was interested in watching Joseph.

“I just thought, who better than someone who knows better than we know what to look for and what it's like going through all this?” Elise says. “And she's just a joy and a gem of a person.”

This summer, Ackman started babysitting Joseph a couple times a week.

“With any kid that's medically complex, as parents, it’s hard to put your trust in any old babysitter. We literally couldn't think of a better fit for someone who's been through the journey," says Robert.

As Joseph gets older, his mom hopes Ackman will be able to help him navigate the emotions that come with receiving a transplant, which "means that somebody else has unfortunately passed … we think about it all the time,” Elise says.

But “having somebody there to navigate not only the physical parts of being sick more frequently and going to the hospital, getting poked and prodded, but also the emotional and the mental pieces of what does it mean to live with a transplant," Elise says, "I think she will be a really good resource for him.”

Ackman says she wants to make sure Joseph knows that he can have a normal life — and that his heart transplant won’t stop him.

She dances, performs in community theater, shows cows, rides horses and has a TikTok account.

“You can do everything,” she says. “You can really still live a full life and do things that every other kid does."

While the toddler only knows a few words right now, but he did learn how to say her name. “I really love that,” Ackman says.

While she often talks to kids before they have heart transplants, Joseph is the first patient she’s gotten to connect and spend time with in person after a transplant.

“It's nice to see someone else who did have a success story and who is living life again, aside from just me,” she says.

This summer, Hannah and Joseph’s cardiologist received a picture of his two patients together.

“I'm still kind of in awe of that they knew each other,” he says.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.