Alan Chapman found out he was experiencing kidney failure in August 2013. The husband and father knew it would be hard and began dialysis in April 2014.
He decided to put his name down on a long donor list, but it seemed like an impossible wait. Suddenly, Alan's name was off the list, thanks to someone very close to him.
The 48-year-old's son, Tyler, couldn't see his dad suffer any longer. He decided to plan a back-to-back operation with his dad in order to donate one of his living kidneys to him. It was a bold move, but something that the 24-year-old son wanted more than anything.
Even better, the operation was scheduled for Valentine's Day. What better present could a son give to his father than the gift of life?
In the video below, posted on February 13, 2017, Tyler explains, "It took me about a couple of hours after I realized that it was going to be Valentine's Day that I was like, 'You know, this is honestly the best gift that I could give anybody as a Valentine's Day gift.'"
Dr. Sean Kumer admires Tyler's bravery.
"Living donor kidneys on average last 3 to 5 years longer than the deceased donor kidneys, so it's a better option," Dr. Kumer says. "But not only is Tyler giving a gift to his father, but he's really also giving a gift to the community at large because his dad will not have to be waiting on the list, on dialysis, and he will not be taking a deceased donor kidney out of a larger pool because other people that don't have living donors are depending on those that are waiting on the list."
Although Alan still worries as a parent, he understands that Tyler can't sit there and do nothing while he waits for a kidney.
This father–son bond is surely strengthened through both men's positivity in such a difficult time.
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