CARRIERE, Miss. (AP via FOX59 News):  Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, is filled with heart-warming stories highlighting the special relationship and bond shared between parent and child.  A story emerged this recent Father’s Day that echoes the sentiment of fathers everywhere who say they’ll lay down their life to save their child.

The act of one father wasn’t quite as dramatic as laying down his life but he certainly saved the life of his child.

The story took place in Carriere, Mississippi where the population slightly tops 17,000 citizens.  Carriere is an unincorporated community in Pearl River County, Mississippi. It has only one zip code.  The quality of life is extremely good in this little town located only 50 miles from New Orleans.  But when a child needs a liver transplant to survive, living within a population of 17,000 people doesn’t offer a large pool of immediate, living donors that could potentially help.

Rhett Shaffette, a resident of  Carriere, daughter, Cecilia, had been suffering since birth with biliary atresia.  It’s a condition where the bile ducts in the liver don’t form normally preventing the organ from functioning properly.  She suffered for 11 years while on the transplant list waiting for a donated liver. Her condition took a turn for the worse when she nearly lost her life due to internal bleeding.

After Cecilia’s nearly fatal close call, the family decided to look instead for a partial transplant from a living donor.  According to the AP article, “They didn’t have to look far: Tests and scans revealed that Rhett’s liver was an ideal match. A few weeks later, both were prepped for surgery.”

So, in a great little town in Mississippi on this past Father’s Day, a dad and his 12 year-old daughter, enjoyed a very special celebration of life, love, and second chances.

View the video below or read more about their story here.

If you or a loved one are in need of a financial partner on your transplant journey or if you have decided to become a living donor, contact the National Foundation for Transplants to learn how we can help.