|
Christmas is a date known for uniting families and, through the exchange of gifts, materializing the affection that their members feel for each other. However, many of these gifts are not material. What's more, several cannot be purchased. The Californian couple formed by the young people Chad and Aileen Cooper, is a good example of people who received at Christmas a gift that no money in the world could afford, the health of their son. Through organ doping, an unknown person who was thousands of miles away restored health to Chad and Aileen's son. It was Michael Speck who appeared out of no to become the person who would supply the liver that little 10-month-old Jacob Cooper so badly needed. The little boy was born with biliary atresia, a rare disease of the biliary tract, and so he urgently needed a transplant. Chad and Aileen never imagined that a stranger was going to be the person who had saved Jacob. The man lived more than 3,000 kilometers away, showing that distance does not matter when it comes to saving a life. Before Michael Speck's miraculous appearance, little Jacob Cooper's health was getting worse. Day after day, his situation was becoming more worrying. "He was getting more and more sick (...) He was hospitalized with an infection before the transplant, he was seriously ill," said Dr. Yuri Genyk, who works at the Los Angeles Children's Hospital, the baby was operated on. Given the dramatic context in which they found themselves, their father Chad quickly offered to be the donor, but tests revealed that he had a mass near his pelvis that needed to be seen immediately. Neither he nor Aileen were suitable donors for their son. When they were already desperate, Michael Speck, 64, an Ohio resident, emerged as the savior. “The surgeon told me he was a 10-month-old baby (…) When I heard about it, I started to cry (…) There are so many people who can do the same as me.”, Said Michael Speck This man, who with his liver donation saved a child's life, is a regular organ donor. Years before, he had already donated a kidney to a minister. Throughout his life, Michael learned to value life. He is a father and grandfather, so he understands all of Chad and Aileen's concern and love for their son. Everyone got to know each other later through Zoom, and it was an exciting moment for everyone.
|
