When Brian Burkett from Arlington, Texas, found out he needed a liver transplant, he reached out to anyone who may be willing to help, including his family, coworkers and his church family.
Burkett had been ill for about 4 years with genetic cirrhosis of the liver, and replacing the organ was his only shot at a better quality of life. His own family members were ruled out as potential donors, as many who volunteered were not matches.
But after sending out an email to his coworkers and church, he got an immediate response from an AT&T co-worker he met 7 years ago named Michael Snyder. Being an army veteran who served two tours in Iraq, duty, honor and sacrifice are ingrained in Snyder’s character.
Snyder offered to donate a portion of his liver to Burkett, saying “If you can do something to help someone why not do it.”
Burkett told ABC News how shocked he was to have gotten such a quick response from Snyder. “He called me within five minutes,” Burkett recalled. “You’re just like ‘What? Thank you!’”
He continued, “I’m dependent on somebody else someone willing to sacrifice themselves literally on the operating table so I can have a better quality of life, so in that sense it’s very humbling,” says Burkett.
But, there was one problem: Snyder had fatty liver disease, and doctors said he needed to drop 25 pounds fast in order to be a possible donor.
Although some might not be up for the challenge, Snyder didn’t hesitate and immediately fell back into his military training to get back in shape. He worked out for an hour in the morning and an hour at night, and gave up nearly all carbohydrates.
In just 3 weeks, Snyder dropped the 25 pounds, and the pair of coworkers underwent transplant surgery last September. Burkett said that after waking up from the transplant, he could immediately feel a difference. His chronic fatigue was gone and he felt better than he had in years.
“You wake up and it’s gone. It was amazing how well it felt,” said Burkett.
Now, months after the surgery, both men are back at work and say the experience of going through the transplant has made them much closer friends and more like family.
“The difference is before we were coworkers and friends, after we have a different kind of connection that honestly is more like family,” said Burkett.
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[Featured Image Credit: Brian Burkett and Mike Snyder via abcnews.com]
Army Veteran Loses 25 Pounds To Donate His Liver To An Old Coworker is an article from: LifeDaily