An 8-year-old boy included in the liver waiting list for liver transplant in US just received the “gift of life” from someone unexpected – a stranger with a generous heart.
Brayden Auten was your typical healthy and active 8-year-old boy, but when April came, all of that changed in an instant. He came home from school sick one day, and when he was brought to the hospital for a check-up, doctors found that he had an aggressive virus attacking his liver.
Everything went downhill from there – Brayden’s health began to decline rapidly.
“It was the Sunday after we got there, they finally looked at us, they’re like, ‘We’re bypassing everything. He’s going on the list tonight,’” James Auten, Brayden’s father, said.
“Started talking liver transplant, and we just bawled our eyes out. We didn’t think it was going to get that far,” Ruth Auten, the boy’s mother, added.
The family was desperate to find a donor. On May 6, James revealed through a Facebook post that his son’s health had gone for the worst and that he had been put in the waiting list for liver transplant in US.
“Well this is the last post I wanted to make but Braydens liver is failing,” he wrote. “We need your prayers and miracle for healing and to find him a liver soon. I appreciate everyone’s love and support through this.”
The response to his post was overwhelming.
“My brother, my sister, her family, everything. They said they had so many people calling in to their unit that they had to add an operator,” James recalled.
Unfortunately, no match could be found for Brayden. That’s when an ICU nurse in Milwaukee named Cami Loritz got involved. She discovered that she was a perfect match and volunteered to be a living donor!
“What she did was completely selfless and she saved his life, plain and simple,” James said of Cami.
“We can’t thank her enough. She’s a true miracle. We consider her one of us, one of our family,” Ruth added.
After weeks of recovering in the hospital, Brayden is now home and well. The boy and his donor even participated in a photoshoot showing off their surgery scars. The pictures show the pair wearing matching shirts with wide smiles on their faces.
“This post comes from such a FULL heart. I cannot say thank you enough for all the kind words, genuine thoughts and intentional prayers Brayden and I have received over the last few months,” Cami wrote in a Facebook post. “Know that they have been whole heartedly appreciated and were our go to ‘pick me ups’ during the rough days of recovery.”
James and Ruth have nothing but unending gratitude for Cami for her selfless deed. She literally saved their son’s life and willingly went through all the hardships that a major operation entails just to give Brayden a second chance at a normal life.
“She has given up time and went through pain to make sure that my son has a chance to walk by my side again and be able to live and thrive like a regular 7yr old boy,” James said. “So thank you Cami Loritz I will never be able to repay the gift that you have given my son and all of us!”
Watch the video below to learn more about this incredible story.
Not many people could have done what Cami Loritz just did; she is indeed a courageous woman and a true hero!
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