Some good news for you.Two-year-old AJ Burgess received a new kidney Wednesday after a prolonged battle with hospital officials who postponed his original October surgery when his father, a perfect donor match, violated his parole and was arrested.
"This is an unexpected Thanksgiving miracle," family attorney Muwali Davis said while the baby was in recovery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. "To watch this child that no one expected to live, and now for him to have a chance at a healthy life, it's unbelievable.
"His parents and family are overwhelmed with gratitude," Davis added. "They want everyone to know that with faith, all things are possible. When the situation was very bleak, it was their faith and the support of the community that pulled them through this."
In an earlier statement, Emory Healthcare CEO Dr. Jonathan Lewin said that "the national guidelines for approving a potential organ donor are clear and stringent. When evaluating any potential donor, Emory's medical team is required to consider the ability of the donor to manage the many complications and health challenges that come with a major surgical procedure."
Davis said at the time that Emory's justification for denying the transplant was that the hospital wanted to be sure Dickerson would be in a position after the procedure to adhere to the after-care requirements for living donors.
"Everybody understands that," Davis said, "but nobody can make any guarantee about what happens to a donor when a donation is made. His parole probation status should not, as far as we're concerned, be a factor at all."
On HLN, Dickerson said that "I don't see why they think it would be a problem for me to try to treat myself after I do the transplant," adding that he would do everything the hospital required.
Emory had previously concluded that Dickerson "would comply with any and all after-care requirements," according to Harold Spence, another family attorney.
After activists from Emory's Candler School of Theology began protesting the hospital's decision, Davis said, Emory officials began to work with the family to find a solution. That culminated in an early morning phone call from the hospital's transplant team the day before Thanksgiving.
"The transplant team contacted them and said, 'We have a kidney,' so they scrambled down here for the last-minute tests that had to be done," Davis said. "The family arrived about 5 a.m. for those tests, and the transplant team took baby AJ back at 7:30 a.m."
The operation at Egleston took three hours, according to Burgess' Facebook video.
That little fella is going to be kicking for a very long time with his brand new kidney, who knows the things he may achieve.
Edgar Cabrera wrote:HOLY SHIT GUYS, IT'S DOGLOVINGJIM!!! HE'S HERE!!!
skoobadive wrote:It's the legendary DoglovingJim! Ohboy, this must be the greatest day of my life!
Cracked.com wrote:Initially, his interest in animals was "primarily a sexual attraction," but as he grew older, he also "developed the emotional attraction." We guess we could call what Jim does ... dog-lovin'