Southland Couple’s Love Story Hallmark Worthy, Literally

TINLEY PARK — Love stories can be pretty straightforward: boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married, start a family and live happily ever after. This isn’t one of those love stories. This is the love story of Heather Krueger and Chris Dempsey, a couple whose story started unexpectedly and ended in an even more unexpected place: Hollywood and the Hallmark Channel.

In 2013, Krueger, from Tinley Park, was a 24-year-old certified nursing assistant while also attending college. One day, after several weeks of feeling tired, foggy and generally ill, she scratched her face by accident and the bleeding from the minor cut wouldn't stop for six hours.
After going to see a doctor at the hospital for the cut, Krueger was told she should see a specialist about her liver.

“The doctor said that the whole bleeding thing, with not clotting, that might be a sign of something with [my] liver,” said Krueger.

At the advice of her doctor, she set up an appointment to see a specialist at the University of Illinois - Chicago. She was told that a biopsy would be done, because standard imaging technology wouldn’t give doctors a full picture of what was going on inside Krueger. A decision was made to use an alternative method for the biopsy, as Krueger’s blood clotting presented very serious issue.

“Typically for a liver biopsy they would stick a needle in your side, and get a sample out that way,” she said. “So, for me, they said if they were going to do that, there would be internal bleeding. So, they had to take a catheter and went through my jugular vein in my neck, down to my liver and pulled a sample out that way."

The news from the biopsy was devastating. Krueger was diagnosed with Stage 4 Liver Disease just two weeks before her 25th birthday. She was given a 50 percent chance to live just two months longer. She fought though, unwilling to give up, but realized that with each passing week, hope grew slimmer.

Months passed before Chris Dempsey, who was working at the Village of Frankfort at the time, heard Heather’s story from her cousin, a seasonal employee. Chris decided he needed to know if he could help. He got all the necessary information from the cousin and set off to get tested.

“I just thought to myself, if I was in this situation, if anybody in my family was, I would want somebody to step up,” Dempsey said.

The news Dempsey got after his test would change his life, and Heather’s, forever. He was a match. Once Chris knew he could help, he told his family, then Heather’s, the news.

“When I found out I was a match, to tell you the truth, I was excited about it,” Dempsey said. “To be able to help somebody in this way, it’s just the ultimate gift to somebody. … A lot of people thought I was crazy.”

Dempsey and Kruger met for the first time at a lunch a few weeks later. In the months leading up to the surgery came movies, dinners and a fundraiser, planned by Chris’ motorcycle club, followed by hanging out and relaxing. During the almost three months the pair spent together leading up to the procedure, sparks were there, even if they didn’t see them at first, they both agree now.

Finally, just a few weeks before the surgery, Heather kissed Chris while they were watching a movie. Something Chris fully admits he wasn’t expecting.

“We were sitting on a couch, watching a movie and I’ll admit, I was a chicken. She made the first move,” Dempsey said.

“I felt like there was something more going on,” Krueger said. “I felt like, the more we hung out leading up to the transplant, it felt like we were ‘together.’”

The two went into surgery — Chris for eight hours, Heather for 12 — before emerging, each with a clean bill of health. The two would start their road to recovery just doors apart from each other, as they were right down the hall from one another after the surgery. More importantly, the two decided to announce their surprising relationship.

“That next day, after the transplant, we made it official,” Krueger said. “We went on walks around the nurses station. How romantic, right?”

Word spread about the couple’s remarkable love story, with media from television and print seeking them out. Heather and Chris appeared on several local stations, and even the Steve Harvey Show. The show went on to pay for the couple’s honeymoon.

Now, years later, the couple’s story is again gaining steam, this time as a made-for-TV movie from the Hallmark Channel called “Once Upon a Christmas Miracle.” The movie stars Aimee Teegarden and Brett Dalton as the pair. The couple said that the movie is very close to their story, with only a few minor changes to add some movie drama.

“Pretty much the story is really close to the real thing, I was really happy about that,” Krueger said.

The Dempseys added that while their story, and movie, might be unique and their own, they hope it inspires others.

“We were hoping this would shed more light on organ donation,” Krueger said. “I’ve just had non-stop Facebook Messenger messages from people I don’t know who have watched the movie and they say, ‘Oh, because of this, I’m going to sign up for organ donation.’ … It’s really rewarding to hear all that and accept everything I did go through.”

Chris and Heather are now in the process of adopting their first child, who they say will absolutely hear and see the story of his or her parent’s love story.

“We’re in the middle of adopting right now, of that process, and we’re really excited about that,” Dempsey said. “They absolutely will be seeing the movie!”

See showtimes for "Once Upon A Christmas Miracle" here.

Photo credit Heather Krueger Dempsey