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Social Worker Tries to Help Father Make Dying Son a Hero

An organ transplantation. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Social Worker Richard Lanz had a tough job to do, according to this moving  Los Angeles Times article.

A 19-year-old Mexican immigrant had suffered an aneurysm while playing soccer. He was brain dead but his body was kept alive on life support.

Lanz, LCSW, knew the lives of several people could be saved if the young man’s kidney’s heart and other organs were donated.  The man’s eyes could also enable another person to see and his skin could be used to help burn victims.

However, he had to convince the father, who had not seen his son in three years, that his son could be a hero even in death.

“I explained how that worked, and he looked truly amazed,” wrote Lanz, who worked for 30 years in the emergency room at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Calif. “I could relate. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I am still awed by the concept of organ transplantation.”

Read the full story to see what happened.

To find out more about how social worker help clients live healthier lives and deal with death and dying visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Health & Wellness Website by clicking here.

 

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