Family awaits boy's surgery

Nine-year-old Colton Brown has been in ICU for nearly a month now while his parents prayed for a life saving transplant. They got the Valentine's Day gift of a lifetime on Thursday.

Thursday, February 14th 2008, 8:07 pm

By: News 9


By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

Nine-year-old Colton Brown has been in ICU for nearly a month while his parents prayed for a life saving transplant. They got the Valentine's Day gift of a lifetime on Thursday.

"He has cystic fibrosis and it's a very struggling disease so it affects their lungs and their digestive system and his lungs are very bad right now," his mother Kim Brown said.

Doctors said the only way to save him is to have a lung transplant.  Colton fell ill in January and his parents haven't left his bedside. The family learned Wednesday Colton wouldn't be able to get that life saving transplant. After running into several dead ends with Medicaid and several hospitals, they called NEWS 9.

"We didn't know but we were trying everything possible," Kim Brown said.

NEWS 9 contacted the Oklahoma Health Care Authority who was able to resolve insurance issue and help Colton with a lung transplant any day now.

Gov. Brad Henry and a handful of lawmakers are helping make the surgery possible, NEWS 9 learned Thursday.

Colton's parents are hoping their insurance covers the half-million dollar cost.

"He's still got a long way to go, this is just a small step and he's got a lot of challenges ahead," his father Jared Brown said.

Colton was still in critical condition Thursday but doctors said he was doing well enough to get to the Children's Hospital in Houston for the transplant.

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