Mike Forman was a police officer in Suffolk County, outside of New York City for more than a decade.
"I loved it. I delivered ten babies being there, because of the delay in the ambulance," he said, laughing at the thought of signing of birth certificates.
Forman was also a volunteer fire chief, who rushed to Ground Zero after 9/11 and spent days, amidst the rubble, searching for survivors.
"You can’t even explain it. So many guys passing away - friends, people I knew for years," said Forman.
Roughly 13 years after he started patrolling the streets of Suffolk County, a suspect fought Forman and his partner, and all three tumbled down a flight of stairs.
"And I ended up on the bottom of the pile," said Forman.
The father, who had two young kids at home, underwent surgery for broken bones and other injuries.
"I developed Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome," said Forman. "I'm constantly living in pain."
He was put on a ton of medication, which Forman said slowly destroyed his liver.
"It basically ruined my life, is what it did," he said.
"We can’t do much because he’s always in pain or half asleep," said Kerrie, Mike's wife.
"The past year though things have gotten worse. Where [the liver] won’t last much longer," said Mike.
"You obviously got told you need a transplant?" asked ABC15
"Yes."
"Or else?"
"I would die."
Forman knew the reality, hundreds of people die every year waiting on a liver.
"It’s hard to get somebody to volunteer to give up a part of their body for you," he said.
It did not take long though, for Mike to find a willing match.
"He kind of just thought I expected it. And obviously, I didn’t," said Mike, starting to get emotional.
"It was me kind of taking it upon myself to be like, 'You know what, I got the same blood type, let’s see how much more I can do?'" said Mike's son, Connor.
The 25-year-old has not had a sip of alcohol for more than a year, as he prepares to give 60% of his organ to his Dad.
"I've had six-hour drives, nights in hotels [and] 5 a.m. doctor's appointments. All that so I can get the final clearance to do the surgery."
After so many months of waiting, they finally have a transplant date on December 1st.
"This always felt like a dream," said Connor. "But now it feels real."
"It’s a lot for him to go through," said Mike. "He’s going to have a scar across his abdomen and up his chest. He's never had surgery...Now he’ll be out of work for three months."
Mike said he spends many nights staying up late and talking with his son.
"We talked about what he’s doing for me. He’s saving my life," he said, choking back tears. The two now cannot wait to put on hospital gowns and lay down on the operating table.
"I promised my son, as soon as we were better, we’d be on a cruise somewhere. And I just can’t wait for that. I can’t wait to be able to go out and walk the dog, [or] go swimming," said Forman.
Connor is eager to join him -- with a fresh scar. "It feels like it's a no-brainer," said Connor.
The father and son have insurance but one thing they are stressed about, financially, is covering the cost of a hotel room or rental property during the mandatory three-month recovery near the USC hospital in Los Angeles.
"Insurance doesn’t cover that at all. Not a dime. So I don’t know how people do it. Other than ask for help," said Mike.
If you would like to help, you can donate to their GoFundMe page.
