CHICAGO (WGN) -- Christmas at home -- it's an extra special gift for a college student this year, who made a remarkable recovery after undergoing a life-saving surgery.

20-year-old Korey Meyers has a lot to be grateful for this Christmas. Not long after successfully undergoing surgery for a heart transplant at Northwestern Medicine's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, he was able to ring the transplant bell.

"I actually say this will be the best Christmas for me," Meyers said. "I'm actually happy that I'm ready to go home and do a lot better with my new heart."

Meyers says the operation is offering him a second chance at life, all thanks to the care he's received.

"The care that I've been receiving has been amazing and top tier," Meyers said.

Originally from Chicago, Meyers was away at school in California studying computer science when he started to notice something wasn't right.

"I started hyperventilating, breathing bad and sweating," Meyers said.

Meyer's health started to get worse. He was admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles, where he was diagnosed with heart failure. He flew home to Chciago to be with family and begin care at Northwestern Medicine under the care of Dr. Sarah Chuzi, who put Meyers on the heart transplant list.

"When we see heart failure in people who are as young as korey, it tends to be due to some sort of genetic condition," Dr. Chuzi said.

A heart became available within a few weeks and Meyers received his transplant on Dec. 3. He recovered so well that he went home just over two weeks after the procedure on Dec. 19.

"Organ donation and transplant is just like such a beautiful thing and I think it's especially meaningful that he gets to go home right before Christmas," Dr. Chuzi said.

It's a gift Meyers said he'll always be grateful for.

"I thank you to the person that gave me his heart to be able to share with me," Meyers said. "So I'll be able to take care of it and cherish it for the rest of my life."