The decision to be a donor can be a difficult one, but the payoff is truly beautiful. There's nothing quite like knowing you gave someone another opportunity at life. An 8-year-old Irish boy made that important decision and decided to become a bone marrow donor — for a very special reason. It was his chance to save his 6-year-old cousin's life.
Grace Lowe, who's only 6 years old, was suffering from leukemia. She needed to undergo bone marrow treatment, but none of her siblings were a match. In came Scott, Grace's 8-year-old cousin and best friend, to save the day. Scott decided to undergo the procedure necessary to donate the bone marrow to his cousin. The two are "double cousins," meaning that they are cousins on both sides of their family, which resulted in a match. Scott and Grace appeared on RTÉ's The Late Late Show to tell their story and ended up with some surprises!
The Late Late Show welcomed two very special guests to its toy show.
Scott and Grace Lowe are cousins, but also best friends. Scott donated his bone marrow to Grace last year. When asked why he decided to do it, he replied, "I wanted to save her life."
Just walking onto the stage with her by his side had the little boy in tears. He had no idea the surprise The Late Late Show had in store for him.
The hosts celebrated Scott's bravery and selflessness by bringing out some of his biggest heroes, Ireland rugby players Rob Kearney, Tadhg Furlong, and Seán O’Brien.
Scott looked on in awe as the rugby players told him that they considered him the real hero for what he did to save his cousin's life.
Scott also received a signed jersey and an invitation to sit in on the team's practice and catch a game the next day.
Fans watching the program were truly floored by Scott's decision to help his cousin without hesitation.
It's hard to imagine how overwhelming it was for a child to understand he needed to undergo an operation to save his cousin when no one else could.
Scott admitted to being scared during the process. He said, "I was scared going in for an operation," but then added, "I felt really happy (that I saved her life)."
The display of selflessness was what so many people needed to see this holiday season.
It also served as an incredible reminder that we're all capable of giving something of ourselves that can save another person's life.
Viewers were incredibly inspired by Scott and Grace's story.
As many difficult things as life gives us to swallow, stories like these remind us of all the hope there is in the world.
We wish Scott and Grace all the happiness and health in the world. Theirs is a truly beautiful story.
