Two Texas families, tied together by tragedy, met for the first time Wednesday night.
Last October, 16-year-old Cam'ron Matthews collapsed from an aneurysm on the Alto High School football field, just minutes before the game ended. The high school junior died at a Tyler hospital soon after.
On the same day, 150 miles away, 16-year-old Daniel Obregon's liver suddenly failed. He was rushed from hospital to hospital, eventually undergoing a liver transplant at Children's Medical Center Dallas that saved his life.
The liver he received was Cam's.
"He gave me life," Daniel said. "I owe him. I owe him my life. If it wasn't for the decision he made, I wouldn't be here."
The decision was to become an organ donor. Cam's father, Ronnie Matthews, said his family
didn't even know about it until after their son had passed away.
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That decision allowed for Cam's organs to save six lives, including his grandfather's.
"For us as a family, instead of burying our son and it being over, we can look and say, his heart is still beating. His lungs, his kidney, his liver, everything is still working," Ronnie Matthews said.
Obregon is now healthy, although doctors have still not determined what caused his liver to fail. The BMX biker made it back on the track earlier this year.
The families met in Alto Wednesday evening, exchanging embraces and tears, before a ceremony of life for Cam at the newly dedicated Cam'ron Matthews Field at Alto High School.
