Fox News anchor Ed Henry has revealed that he will take a break from work and donate a portion of his liver in order to save the life of his ailing sister.
The Fox & Friends Weekend fixture discussed his decision in a lengthy op-ed Sunday that delved into the emotional highs and lows of securing approval for the surgery, a process that took months. Henry explained that his sister suffers from a degenerative liver disease and that he will donate about a third of his liver to replace her failing one.
Henry also shared the news with viewers through tears in a segment that aired on the network Sunday.
Medical marvel
In his op-ed, Henry explained that he will undergo the surgical procedure Tuesday, adding that he hopes to bring attention to people who need transplant organs, like his sister. But while he is glad for the opportunity to raise public awareness, Henry admitted that his primary objective is to save his sister’s life.
“On Tuesday I will be donating approximately 30 percent of my liver to my sister at a hospital in the Northeast. I will undergo about six hours of surgery to remove that portion of my liver, and in an operating room next door Colleen will go through about eight to 10 hours of surgery to entirely remove her diseased liver and replace it with part of my liver,” Henry wrote.
Henry stated that his sister was on a waitlist to receive a transplant and that her condition has been deteriorating, so he offered part of his own liver to save her life. His sister, he explained, was “not diseased by alcohol; but family history involving the liver impacted her, while sparing me.” The Fox anchor said that live donors are relatively rare, but thanks to a “miracle,” he’ll be just fine. If the surgery goes as planned, he and his sister will both have complete, functioning livers in a matter of weeks.
“You read that right. Colleen and I could each have our own healthy livers – from one liver – in just over a month. It is nothing short of a medical marvel, and yet doctors in this great country called America perform these miracles pretty frequently.”
Highs and lows
Henry expanded at length on the emotional highs and lows of becoming a liver donor. The process started about a year ago and remained a secret to his sister until Henry was confident that he was a “match.”
“For example, I did not tell my sister at first about the medical tests I was taking to screen my compatibility because some people start the process in good faith, and then for various physical or mental reasons they may choose to back out – or the hospital could decide the potential donor just can’t go through with it,” Henry wrote.
The whole journey, Henry explained, was arduous and required weight reduction, medical tests, and mental health counseling with a medical team to ensure he could survive the procedure and manage the aftermath. He was “desperate” to donate his liver right away, but he was told that he needed to lose about 15 pounds beforehand. He was overjoyed when doctors told him in June that he was finally cleared for the procedure.
“My sister is humble, never wants to be a burden, and always tries to shoulder as much as she can on her own. So we both cried as I tried to tell her to sit back and let me take care of her this one time,” he wrote. “She thanked me profusely, but then Colleen immediately started fretting about how much of a hardship this surgery would be on me. She particularly zeroed in on the fact that the operation was being scheduled to put me in the early stages of recovery around my birthday.”
Henry said he was “blown away” when his nephew texted him to thank him for what he had done.
“Happy Father’s Day Uncle Ed!” he wrote. “Thank you so much for doing this for my mom, it means everything to her and me.”
Enduring gratitude
Henry’s powerful sentiments were shining through as he shared his story on air.
“Now that I’ve caught my breath, my parents have been great, my wife’s been great, my kids are strong beyond their years,” he said, adding that he was grateful to Fox for their support.
“I’m just fortunate that in my family there’s been this liver issue. I didn’t get it, thankfully, because they’ve screened everything. My sister, unfortunately, got it through no fault of her own. So I want to help,” he continued. “But you know, the amazing thing is through God’s grace I can help, and I’m going to help. And she’s going to be great, as so will I, and Fox has been absolutely amazing.”
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