7-Year-Old Boy Opts Out Of Taking Trip To Disney Land To Meet His Bone Marrow Doner

Nov 30, 2019 by apost team

It is not often that a little boy will choose meeting a stranger over a trip to Disney World.

However, that is what happened when Gabriel Smith chose to meet his bone marrow donor instead of going to the happiest place on earth. The 7-year-old boy from Illinois was only 14 months old when he had to undergo a bone marrow transplant as a treatment for aplastic amenia.

According to Good Morning America, Gabriel's family found a match for their son through the Be the Match registry. The match for Gabriel happened to be a 19-year-old carpenter who lived in Germany. Gabriel's mother, Lauren Smith, said that her little boy was hospitalized from August of 2013 until February 2014 with the transplant occurring during that time on October 16.

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Lauren was so grateful to Dennis Gutt, the man who courageously stepped up to be Gabriel's donor. Without the sacrifice of Dennis, Gabriel would not have survived.

The Make-a-Wish Foundation approached Gabriel and his family about granting a trip to the sweet little boy. Rather than go to Disneyland as many kids decide to do with their wish, Gabriel surprised his family by saying that he wanted to meet his bone marrow donor.

The family had already contacted Dennis years ago through Facebook and developed an online friendship with him. So it seemed natural to choose that the Make-a-Wish Foundation fly Dennis to them so that Gabriel could finally meet his hero.

When Dennis first stepped out of the elevator, Gabriel got stage fright and could not move. Thankfully, Dennis embraced the boy and he immediately warmed up to the person who saved his life.

Dennis spent a few days in Gabriel's hometown of Springfield, exploring the area and establishing a connection with the family. The Smith's also took Dennis to St. Louis to see where Gabriel had spent his time when hospitalized. The highlight of the visit was a trip to Chicago to watch a Cubs game.

Dennis did not arrive in the US empty-handed. He presented Gabriel with a host of gifts, including a wooden box that he made himself and then filled with pictures of himself as a child, German money, and more.

You have to check out these adorable pictures of Gabriel and Dennis. Be sure to spread the love of this touching story so that people are aware of the power of registering to be a bone marrow donor.