The latest work by Dear David Feature A touching story sent by viewersIncludes the story of a man who saved two lives through living organ donation and a teenager who used her diagnosis to invent products for patients like her.
Humans become rare double organ donors
Brian Flynn transformed the midlife crisis into a medical wonder by becoming one of the few people in the world to complete two living organ donations.
As Flynn was approaching his 50th birthday and felt he needed to do more in his life, he discovered a plea on social media for help. A teacher at his child's school had posted about her brother, 24-year-old Greg Dentist, who desperately needed a kidney transplant after his younger brother's kidney infection developed into kidney disease.
Despite never meeting Dentice, Flynn took the test and found out he was a match. The two men first met on the morning of their surgery at Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
“It was exciting to see me walking and watching Greg,” Flynn said. “I could say he was struggling.”
The kidney transplant was successful and the two men were in touch. The dentist said that if Flynn wants to help someone else, he could donate a portion of his liver.
Flynn investigated liver donations and learned that he is a good candidate to donate a portion of his liver. He coincided with 4-year-old Richie Ramirez, who needed a liver transplant.
“I had that moment, 'What am I doing? I'm already doing this, this is crazy,” Flynn said. “And that moment has passed because you get this feeling.
Liver surgery was a much higher risk than kidney transplantation.
Four years later, Flynn maintains a strong bond with both recipients. Ramirez is currently 8 years old and thriving in her third grade, but her dentist is married to a young girl.
“Brian saved my life. I was pretty impressed that he did it for a stranger,” Ramirez said.
Flynn doesn't plan to donate more organs, but he works as an advocate to inspire others and shares the message that he will get more than the donor gives.
“It gave me what I could do. It was to give meaning to my life, from my perspective and even extraordinary,” Flynn said. “And it's really hard to find.”
Teens will turn Crohn's disease into a business solution
Rachelby has been diagnosed Crohn's disease At age 13, she transformed her active childhood into weeks spent at an infusion center where she was treated for chronic autoimmune disorders.
“I just wanted to go outside and live and be a child,” Bee said. “But physically, my body didn't let me do that because I was in so much pain.”
The bees spent 6-8 hours each week in the infusion centre chair for her treatment. During the session she was always cold and uncomfortable, causing the idea of a solution.
The idea has become “Infusion Hero.” This is a sweatshirt with zipper sleeves that will keep patients warm while maintaining IV access.
Working with her school's business club and clothing designer, Bee transformed her hand-drawn sketches into real products. She studied and refined the design for months.
“It started out as just an idea, just something I quickly pulled onto paper,” Bee said. “Fast-forward a few months, I'm wearing this hoodie and I can see how this product can be very helpful to people, whether it's really early on or if I could get this product out.”
Bee is currently working with the manufacturer and has many pre-orders for sweatshirts. She plans to continue her business development this fall while graduating from university.
“It really gave me a purpose. It gave me passion. It gave me something I could look forward to. “I really want to create something that will help people when they have these experiences, because being in that hospital is really scary, so having a little something to keep you warm can really make a difference.”
David Begneau unveils and continues to do so, highlighting everyday heroes and proves that there is good news in the news with his exclusive “CBS Morning” series “Beg-Knows America.” Get ready for every Monday that will make you smile or shed tears. Have you ever heard of a normal person doing something extraordinary for someone else? Email David and his team to deardavid@cbsnews.com
