Dying Baby Miraculously Gets A New Liver In Just 40 Minutes

Mel Johnson

Baby In Need Of A Liver Transplant Gets A Miracle

Melody and Joseph Mcabe's world came crashing down when doctors delivered the terrible news. Daniel, their 5-month-old baby in need of a liver transplant was going to die. But God's timing is perfect, and a miracle was just around the corner! Credit: CBS Chicago

Out Of Time

Due to a rare liver disease, little Daniel was dying. His skin turned yellow and his weight dropped to just 8 pounds. Daniel's only hope was to get a new liver. Unfortunately, 14,000 other people were also on the waiting list, and the average wait time for a child is 86 days. That far exceeded the time the sick baby boy had left.

"Many times you're waiting for months or years. There are people who die every day because there's not an organ available," explained Dr. Riccardo Superina.

[rsnippet id="3"] Doctors told Melody and Joseph to say goodbye. But then, just 40 minutes later, a miracle happened. A donor had been found!

“We have a very strong prayer network. And I can only chalk it up to some kind of divine intervention,” Joseph said.

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Life-Saving Surgery

Dr. Superina spent 8 hours in surgery giving Daniel a second chance at life. The little guy, about the size of a loaf of bread, was the smallest transplant patient on which Dr. Superina had ever operated. And the surgeon still remains in awe of how it all came together.

“It’s one in a million, you know, I can’t ever remember having something like this happen," he said. "We were prepared to wait a few months, in fact at one point I think the plan was to evaluate one of the parents for donations.”

Daniel's family is so thankful for this precious miracle. Of course, they are also grateful to the donor -- a 30-year-old brain dead man -- and his family.

“My immediate reaction was the family," Melody said. "That was the only thing I could think of at first was, the poor family. I was just so sad for them. At the same time, I was glad for Daniel, and then I felt guilty for feeling glad.”

RELATED: Little boy gains more than 20 pounds to be a donor for his dad

God's Timing

As further proof that God can work all things together for good, the donor's kidney did not just save Daniel. Because the liver is an organ able to regenerate, only a small portion was taken for Daniel. The rest of the liver will go to another transplant patient. Daniel's surgery was a huge success, and the baby in need of a liver transplant is getting stronger and stronger each day. Dr. Superina has no doubt the little warrior will be just fine! [rsnippet id="2"] Hear about the life-saving procedure in the video below (warning: some of the surgical images may be considered graphic). "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28   h/t: Newsner

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