Viewers of Denver’s KUSA-TV 9 News learned on Christmas Eve about a Chadron teacher and school administrator who received a new kidney earlier this month from his son.

Earl McConnell…a former Rushville High school basketball coach who’s been an administrator at Loneman School on the Pine Ridge Reservation the last few years…was told a decade ago that his kidneys would eventually fail, and they finally did just over a year ago.

That began a search for a donor that saw one of McConnell’s sons prove not to be a match, but son Justin turned out to be both a perfect match and eager to help his dad.

The doctors said he needed to improve his own health a little…including losing some weight…before he could donate, leading to several months of preparation before the doctors at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver finally gave the ok.

The McConnells and wife and mother Shelby…who works at the Chadron Medical Clinic…headed down to Denver earlier this month with two younger children remaining behind in Chadron.

The double surgery proved to be successful with both father and son coming through with flying colors. Justin told the Channel 9 reporter that while everybody kept telling him he was a hero for donating a kidney to his father, he just did what he knew his dad would do for him. Earl disagreed, calling his son “an amazing individual.”

The McConnells celebrated Christmas staying with friends in the Denver area, their first Christmas away from Chadron, waiting for the doctors to say it’s alright to go home. They hope to get that news next week.