Poplar Bluff family hopes to inspire others after son's heart transplant

POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - A little boy from Poplar Bluff is the new face of organ donation in Missouri.

When we first met Liam Gregory two years ago he was getting an emergency heart transplant.

Now his face will be on billboards and buses spreading the message about pediatric transplants.

"He is so strong, and if he wants to do something he does it," said his dad Laramy Gregory.

And good luck keeping up with him.

Liam Gregory is almost four, which is a birthday his parents worried he would never see.

"Something horrible happened to our family, and it was tragic, and my whole life did change. I thought it was going to be for the worst," said Liam's mom Jessica Gregory.

Before Liam's second birthday he had a stroke, and that's when doctors realized - he had an enlarged heart.

Then almost two years ago he got a heart transplant on Christmas day.

His parents call it a miracle.

"He had a stroke. He has another human being's heart beating inside of him, and he's out playing. It is so heartwarming. I love it," Laramy Gregory said.

Liam's parents said a Botox injection treatment helped him improve.

"Liam was running like nothing had ever happened to his foot at all, and I just bawled my eyes out like a baby," Jessica Gregory said.

Now that he is doing so much better his parents are sharing his story as the face of Cardinal Glennon Hosptial's pediatric transplant program.

"So, if somebody would sign up because of Liam, and either get an organ or give one – I mean, it's just amazing to me to think about it," said Laramy Gregory.

His parents said they hope as Liam grows he finds a calling to help others just like him.

"Liam has a reason he is here. There is a reason that God brought him back, and brought him back to us. I think his reason is to help save other people. That's what it seems like," Laramy Gregory said.

That reason is clear for everyone to see as they drive by.

Last Christmas Liam's parents wrote a letter to his donor family.

They tell me they haven't heard back, but will continue to write them every year, so they know what an important gift they gave their whole family.

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