(Fox32)
Anthony Parello was in desperate need of a liver transplant when his mom turned to Facebook to find the 14-year-old a match.
“It was just a hope, like, well at least I could say to myself as his mother, ‘I tried’ I tried to do something to find a living donor for him,” Kimberly Parello said in a press conference on Monday.
A past acquaintance of hers, Kendra Perpich of Minnesota, responded and was tested and approved as a match for the Lombard, Illinois boy.
“Seeing my mom that emotional made me really emotional too,” Anthony said in a press conference of his mother’s reaction to the news.
Anthony has biliary atresia, a condition where inflammation develops within his bile ducts, Fox32 reported.
The life-threatening condition occurs in about one of every 18,000 infants, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Perpich agreed to donate part of her liver and Anthony had the surgery the week of December 14, according to Fox32.
According to doctors, the boy’s liver should fully regenerate within a few months. He’ll be able to do more physical activity than he had in the past, like run during gym, as well.
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