Footballer donates part of his liver to his nephew of 9 months and moves Argentina

[bsaambl]

(CNN) - When Alejandro "Lulo" Benítez was told that he could save Milo, his little nephew of only nine months, he did not hesitate for a moment. It did not matter to him that the cost was to undergo an operation to donate part of his liver to him or that, perhaps, that meant abandoning his career as a soccer player.

"First for me was the health of my nephew and I cared nothing more than my nephew," explained Benitez, who at 30 years is a historic striker and goalkeeper of Club Central Larroque in the province of Entre Ríos, in Argentina.

Milo is the son of one of his sisters and suffered from a biliary obstruction. After a series of treatments, the transplant became the only alternative for him to survive.

According to the doctors who treated him, being a baby, the best option was a living donor who could give him a piece of his liver. That is why, they began to look for relatives suitable for this intervention.

But Milo's father was not compatible and his mother, with whom he shared the same blood, had been operated on the heart: it was very risky to subject her to this adventure. Then, the doctors continued to investigate the rest of the family and it turned out that uncle "Lulo" was the one indicated.

"We are a very close family, we are three brothers. I told them I did not hesitate for a second, that it was going to be me and imagine the joy of it and the happiness and the relief because there was a chance of life for Milo, "Benítez reported.

After the long hours that lasted the two operations, and when they were stabilized, came the reunion between uncle and nephew.

"The truth is that, after the surgery, I saw him five days after the operation. I just went to intensive care, I got out of bed and went, that meeting was the most exciting thing that happened to me in my life. It was another person, to see him there in the incubator and I start singing to him the songs that he sang and he smiling, the truth that I was very moved and I started to cry, "Benítez said excitedly once more.

He was already discharged and returned to his small hometown, about 270 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, where he was received as a hero. Milo, on the other hand, evolves favorably and has a "high ambulatory", that is to say, it must return to the hospital twice a week for him to practice controls.

For the Benitez family today everything is joy. To the recovery of Milo is added another good news: Alejandro Benítez is going to be dad for the first time by the time of year end. His girlfriend is pregnant and that is why the player, after talking with CNN en Español, quickly left to meet her because he wanted to accompany her to get an ultrasound where, perhaps, they can know the sex of their future baby.

From now on, uncle and nephew must take care of themselves. Milo is the one who needs the most attention and, in addition to regular checks with doctors, he must remain isolated because of the risk of catching any disease. For that reason, he will live another time in a lodging with his mother in front of the Hospital Austral de Pilar, where he was operated, and away from his two brothers who wait anxiously at his home in the city of Larroque.

His uncle, little by little, can return to his normal life. "They are usually careful about feeding and caring for physical activity, up to six or eight weeks and from the sixth or eighth week they begin to exercise progressively and then can live normal life as anyone. From here in six to eight weeks to start to run progressively again to have a risk activity, be strong, without any inconvenience, "said Ariel González Campana, surgeon of the team of Transplant Hospital Austral.

Although the operation does not force him to retire, it is very difficult for Benítez to return to the courts, at least professionally. He is already 30 years old and for a professional player age is a conditioning. But in addition it will have to face a long recovery and, to replay, the risks of being hit in the affected area are high.

But that does not matter to him today. The joy of seeing his nephew recover and smile again is much stronger than his passion for soccer.