The single father of five who wore a “In Need of Kidney” T-shirt to Disney World over the summer underwent a kidney transplant last week in New York.
Robert Leibowitz, 60, of New Jersey, never imagined how magical his family’s vacation trip to the Magic Kingdom would be after securing a kidney from a stranger– thanks to another stranger’s viral Facebook post about his special hand-made T-shirt.
Leibowitz suffered from chronic kidney disease and was going to dialysis three days a week. He had been in need of a kidney for three years, Inside Edition reported.
“I thought ‘You know, if I can get one person who’s my blood type to just respond and maybe that’s my match…You know it’s worth the $35 investment for the shirt,’” Leibowitz told CBS News. “This amazing couple, Rocio and Juan Sandoval, took a picture of it and said do you mind if I post it? Within the first week 90,000 Facebook shares. Three days walking around the park… my phone wouldn’t stop ringing.”
Rocio Yanira Sandoval posted the photo of Leibowitz’s T-shirt on her Facebook page.
“So, just a heads-up for tomorrow – Surgery is scheduled for 8AM and should last roughly 4 hours. My sister will post on my timeline as soon as I’m in recovery. Once I’m awake and coherent and no longer high as a kite (hopefully), I’ll get on and update everyone, then throw my phone across the room so I can sleep, enjoy the pain meds, and not tell hundreds of friends and family how much I love them. Repeatedly. Hopefully by dinner time I’ll be able to make some calls and send a few messages. And drink Diet Coke. No promises on pics.”
Richie Sully, 39, a father of two from Fort Wayne, Ind., was one of those who saw the post.
“I have an extra kidney, it’s not like I need them both,” he told CBS.
He and Leibowitz were reported doing well after the surgery Thursday at New York-Presbyterian Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan.
“There are no words, no matter how much I say how much I appreciate,” Leibowitz told NBC4 New York days before the surgery.
(H/T Fox News)