Friday, February 22, 2008

Gamer hero saves nephew's life by donating his liver

Aiden Diederich suffered an acute liver failure last fall just days after his first birthday. He was rushed to the hospital, but the doctor's couldn't do anything to help him. He needed a liver transplant.

His uncle, a long time gamer and a member of Seasoned Gamers, an online community of adult gamers, stepped in after the risks involved with a liver transplant surgery ruled out Aiden's immediate family. Jeff Shoemaker donated 20% of his liver to Aiden.

Now 6 months after the surgery both Aiden and Jeff are doing well, though Jeff will need annual visits to the doctor for the rest of his life and Aiden's immune system is still weakened.

Heroes don't just exist in video games like City of Heroes. Sometimes they play video games, too.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice write up! What Jeff did was the actions of a real life hero. It is about time, people know that Gamers can be heroes too!

RoundeyeSamurai