In 2021, Lexington Fire Department Lieutenant Joseph Sexton's son, John, got very sick. What Sexton and his wife, Katie, thought was a stomach bug turned out to be much worse.
John, who was 5 years old at the time, had contracted E-Coli 0157. The E-Coli then developed into a rare disease called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.
Doctors said John needed a life-saving kidney transplant.
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"It's really devastating cause here's a young kid that's just starting out, has his whole life ahead of him," Lieutenant Sexton said. "And then it's kind of like, hmm, not no more."
Little did the Sextons know, a fellow LFD firefighter and close friend, Tim Belcher, was getting tested to see if he was a match.
He was.
The successful kidney transplant surgery was on Tuesday.