Brothers Give The Gift Of Life To Each Other
(CBS) -- Three brothers. Three surgeries. Three heroes.
It all adds up to a special Thanksgiving in Stickney, CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports.
Jesse Aguilar, his brother Stephen Obregon and his mom are reminiscing this holiday.
The family is also remembering the brother who's not here—Julio. The Vietnam War hero had his foot blown off in combat and developed blood cancer at 40. His family blames Agent Orange.
Brother Jesse came to his rescue donating bone marrow.
"I did the sacrifice because I loved him. Somebody had to try to help him," he says.
Julio never made it home from the hospital. But Jesse's sacrifice left a big impression on younger brother Stephen.
Now the brother's story goes full circle. When Jesse suffered kidney failure, Stephen became the hero, offering one of his own kidneys.
Monday's surgery was a success, enabling the brothers to come home in time to spend the holiday with their 88-year-old mother.
"The best Thanksgiving ever--to see him not hooked up to a machine," Stephen says.
Both brothers are still weak from surgery but are sharing something even more important than a Thanksgiving meal.
The family wants to thank the many friends and strangers who have contacted them to offer support and donations at their GOFUNDME page.