BATON ROUGE – Last year, ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi introduced the country to two amazing families that share a common bond. While one family may be LSU fans and the other fans of the Auburn Tigers, the link between these two families goes far beyond sports.
The game of football has given the Perrys and Boswells a platform to share their story – and to bring awareness to the importance of organ donation, which helped extend the life of a child in need of a miracle.
In 2015, the Boswell’s infant son Davis, contracted a rare infection that resulted in his needing a heart transplant. At the same time, the Perry’s son, John Clarke, began to run a mysterious fever that led to doctors discovering bleeding on his brain. Once in surgery to stop the bleeding, doctors discovered major malformations in the blood vessels around his brain that couldn’t be repaired.
John Clarke passed away at the tender age of just six months old on November 29, 2015. Holley Perry, the mother of John Clarke, was determined that her child’s heart be donated to another family in need of a miracle.
Her perseverance led to the heart of John Clarke being donated to little Davis Boswell, whose parents Tucker and Amanda are Auburn fans.
Over a year ago, the families met and keep in contact through the tie that binds them together in the life of Davis Boswell. They were together at last year’s LSU-Auburn game at Jordan-Hare Stadium and they will be together on Saturday afternoon in Tiger Stadium.
The Heart of a Tiger.
How an organ donation brought these Auburn and LSU families together. https://t.co/KVfmKluxSp
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 13, 2017
The Perrys and Boswells will be recognized on the field during the game tomorrow as they continue to promote and bring awareness to organ donor registration.
For more information about providing support to families with children in need of life-changing medical treatments, like the Perrys and Boswells, go to JohnClarkePerryFoundation.com.
Fans also can sign up to be an organ donor through Donate Life Louisiana at RegisterMe.org.