Adam Bruzzese and his wife are happy their family is healing.
Little Charlie was born with a liver disease and needed a transplant. His father didn't hesitate when tests showed he would be the perfect donor.
"I was like, 'let's do it tomorrow you can do it without anesthesia, let's go to work,'" says Adam.
But traditional transplant surgery for Adam would have meant months of recovery, taking him away from work and helping his wife care for Charlie.
But now there is a new transplant procedure, done only at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, that cuts recovery time in half for donors.
The new surgery is done laproscopically. Instead of a major incision, surgeons make just five small ones.
"Most of our donors who have undergone laproscopic donation have been able to go back to work in 3-4 weeks, there off of pain medicine usually in 7-10 days," says Dr. Benjamin Samstein.
While Charlie is doing well, he's on drugs that suppress his immune system so his body doesn't reject his new liver.
Now his parents worry about keeping germs away.
"He's not allowed to play with his cousins, not allowed to have visitors, we wash everything over and over again."
But this Father's Day, the Bruzzese family will be celebrating, and Adam is counting his blessings. "Just thankful that I get to be a dad too, and James has his brother, and it's going well."
Doctors say if all goes well, Charlie will grow up healthy.
Doctors say right now the surgery is only available between adult donors and child recipients. But they hope to expand to include older recipients next year.
