Vietnam veteran Rick Homer needs a liver transplant. But instead of turning to a long donor list, the 62-year-old had to look no further than his own family.
Homer's 21-year-old grandson, Ricky Glenn, happily volunteered to get tested to see if he's a match for his grandfather, KLTV reported. The only problem was that Glenn was serving with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan while his grandfather was home in Texas.
So Glenn asked his commanding officer for a break from duty so he could return and determine whether he is a suitable donor. His request was granted and the U.S. Army specialist was allowed to fly to Dallas for the evaluation.
"I'm the firstborn grandson and I carry my grandfather's name," Glenn told KLTV. "So the loss and regret of me knowing I could have done something and didn't do it would have outweighed more than doing it now."
If Glenn is a match, he will reportedly donate 60 percent of his liver to Homer in an operation that would take place several weeks from now.
While it's not the first time someone has offered to give more than half of their liver to a close family member, Glenn's offer is remarkable in and of itself for the distance he traveled to find out whether he's even a match.
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