Father gives gift of life to son, shares story this Father’s Day
For Michael Lamb, the decision to donate one of his kidneys was not a hard one to make, especially when it was going to benefit his son, Liam's health.
Three years ago, Liam got a strand of Escherichia coli, which made him very sick to the point where he lost kidney function along with other medical complications. Due to that, he spent about a year on dialysis until his mom and dad, Ann Elizabeth and Michael decided to go with a kidney transplant for their son.
They were screened to see if they would be compatible matches, as his parents. As it turned out, they were both compatible matches for Liam.
Then the question came to mind: Whose kidney will go to Liam?
After discussion between Liam's parents, his dad decided to give his kidney.
“We decided that I would donate to him rather than his mom because we would want her to be completely healthy in order to take care of him,” said Michael. “If she had donated, it would be hard for her to take care of him after that.”
For Michael, making the decision to be a donor for his son was the easiest.
“As a parent, you would do anything for your kid,” said Michael. “I did get some nervousness in the days and the hours leading up to the surgery, hoping that it would work and that I wouldn't fail him. It was exciting and made me nervous at the same time.”
When Liam received the news that his dad was going to donate one of his kidneys to him, he was overly excited from the realization that he would get to resume enjoying his childhood.
He even named his new kidney.
“Kids on dialysis don't grow; they usually don't get any taller or bigger, because dialysis can't fully fill out the function that kidneys do for your body. So, it was amazing when he got his energy and his childhood back,” said Michael. “Leading up to the transplant, we told him that he was going to get one of daddy's kidneys and it was going to be a really strong kidney. So, he decided to name it ‘Rex' after Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is his favorite dinosaur. He is always proud to talk about Rex, how
Rex is doing, and how happy he is to have Rex.”
On Father's Day, Michael hopes that those who know this story know that if you can do something good for someone, you should do it.
“I hope people realize that there are good things that you can do for others, and you can do it through your family, your friends, or even a complete stranger,” Michael said.
Not only is the one who received the kidney currently thriving and living his childhood again, but the one who gave the kidney is also feeling like nothing happened.
“A lot of people have asked me how I'm doing after the surgery, and two years out now, it's not really something
I even notice,” said Michael. “There's a pretty small scar that kind of goes around my belly button. I've had two really-well functioning kidneys before, and I've still got plenty of function to keep going. So, it's not something I'm really missing. Luckily, everyone was given two kidneys when we were born whereas we only need one to live a healthy life.”