Hero Father Loses 30 Lbs in 2 Months to Save His Daughter's Life (VIDEO)
When Eduardo Camargo of Bridgeport, Ill. vowed to go on a crash diet, it wasn't for a New Year's resolution. It was to save his daughter's life.
After her birth in April 2012, Camargo's daughter Jazlyn was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a life-threatening congenital liver condition. After two surgeries, Jazlyn's prognosis worsened. Doctors said that she needed a liver transplant to live, and Camargo demanded to be the donor.
"Right away I said it had to be me and not my wife," he told ABC News. "I have two other daughters and they need a mother more than they need a father."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
However, at 210 pounds, Camargo was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, a condition known for an unhealthy build-up of fat in the liver. Doctors wouldn't let him be a donor.
For the 35-year-old, the decision was simple – lose the weight to save his daughter – but the road was hard. He'd had difficulty losing weight in the past. However, he forced himself to stick with a regimen of working out that included running on a treadmill every other day before work.
"I was weak in the knees, crying when I was running," Camargo told the Chicago Sun-Times. "After work, I would go to the gym and I actually got up to running six miles an hour. Halfway through, I actually felt like I was going to vomit, but I would think of my daughter. In my head I would say, 'Please God, let me help my daughter.' And I would get watery eyes. I just kept going."
Combining exercise with a diet of more vegetables and modest portions, he lost 30 pounds in two months. He was cleared for the transplant.
The timing was divine as Jazlyn's liver started to fail the day before surgery in November 2012. She would have died if the surgery was put off any longer. The next day, doctors removed part of Camargo's liver and transplanted it into Jazlyn.
The surgery was a success, and both father and daughter recovered. Now a year later, Camargo's family is whole with a 20-month-old Jazlyn thriving.
"To this day, every time I go to work every day in the morning — my wife gets mad — I go bother her (while she's sleeping). I make sure she opens up her eyes and looks at me," Camargo told the Sun-Times. "Once she opens up her eyes and looks at me, I go to work happy."
Make sure to SHARE this beautiful story of a father's love.
H/T: ABC News, Chicago Sun-Times
