An 8-year-old boy feels blessed beyond measure after an ICU nurse donated part of her liver so that he could live. Brayden Auten's health episode began in April. Brayden was sent home from school because he wasn't feeling well. He ended up at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee, where within 24 hours doctors had discovered that an aggressive, unknown virus was destroying the young boy's liver.
"And then about two days later it just started going downhill and just kept going downhill," Brayden's dad, James Auten, told WBAY. Brayden's condition quickly deteriorated, leaving doctors no option but to put him on the waiting list for a new liver. James shared his son's story online and got an overwhelming response from family and friends. Sadly, no one was a match.
That's where Cami Loritz came in and changed everything. The ICU nurse learned that she was a match and volunteered to be a living donor.
A little boy has been given a second chance at life thanks to a selfless ICU nurse. Brayden Auten was a typical healthy boy until he was sent home from school one day. Less than 24 hours later, he was at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee, where his family received bad news.
An unknown, aggressive virus was attacking Brayden's liver. The 8-year-old would require a transplant. "Started talking liver transplant, and we just bawled our eyes out. We didn't think it was going to get that far," Ruth Auten, Brayden's mom, explained to WBAY.
Brayden's dad, James, put the donor information on Facebook. While the hospital was overwhelmed with calls from family and friends offering to help, none of them were found to be a match.
Thankfully, Cami Loritz was. The ICU nurse, originally from Denmark, learned that she was a match and signed up to be a living donor. "What she did was completely selfless and she saved his life, plain and simple," James recalls.
Since the liver is the only organ that can regenerate, within four to six months both Brayden's and Cami's livers were expected to recover to original size and capacity. Cami shared more information about being a living donor in a Facebook post about the situation.
"What went on here was an altruistic (anonymous/un-directed) partial living liver donation. There is no medical device able to function or perform for your liver the way dialysis does for your kidneys or an LVAD (left ventricular assist device) does for your heart," she noted. "Therefore, transplant is the only option for those in irreversible liver failure."
James and Ruth expressed their gratitude for Cami's selfless act in a Facebook post:
“So today we had the wonderful opportunity to meet Braydens miracle, the angel that gave you life, She has given up time and went through pain to make sure that my son has a chance to walk by my side again and be able to live and thrive like a regular 7yr old boy. So thank you Cami Loritz I will never be able to repay the gift that you have given my son and all of us!”
Brayden got to meet Cami himself about three weeks after the surgery. James posted:
“Brayden got to meet his miracle today!!! Thank you Cami Loritz for coming to visit him!! And thank you again for saving his life and giving up so much time and enduring pain just to give us our little boy. Your are truly an angel! #DONATELIFE.”
Brayden's family spent two months in Milwaukee while he recovered from the transplant. Meanwhile, the community back home took care of things in the Autens' absence.
"They set up fundraisers and everything for tournaments and just, it was really amazing to see the community support and the wrestling team came while we were gone and did our lawn and landscaping and came and saw him. It's been pretty amazing," James told WBAY.
Brayden was able to go home in July, just in time for his birthday on July 1. He did have to return to the hospital briefly, but once he was back home, he was all set. He returns to school this fall with a few physical limitations.
Brayden will even be able to get back to his favorite hobby, wrestling. He was the youngest winner of a local wrestling tournament the weekend before they discovered that he was in the midst of liver failure.
Brayden and Cami got together again to celebrate their joint recovery with a photo shoot. Cami shared the photos on Facebook, writing, "This post comes from such a FULL heart. I cannot say thank you enough for all the kind words, genuine thoughts and intentional prayers Brayden and I have received over the last few months."
In some of the photos, Cami wore a shirt that said "Made by Jesus to be an organ donor," while Brayden wore a shirt that said, "Saved by Jesus and an organ donor." The adorable shots are a reminder of the lifelong bond these two will have.
"We can't thank her enough. She's a true miracle. We consider her one of us, one of our family," Ruth noted to WBAY. "The pictures say everything." Indeed, the pictures show two healthy people, grateful for the chance to live.
