A Kentucky woman is preparing to marry the brother of the boy whose liver saved her life two decades ago in a transplant that proved critical to her survival. Brooklyn Dotson, now 24, was a toddler when she received a liver transplant from Michael Waters, a 10-year-old boy from Dayton, Ohio, who had died after being struck by a car.

In 2003, Dotson was diagnosed with a rare liver condition and given just three days to live. Her family was initially advised to make funeral arrangements, but a suitable donor liver was found before time ran out. Dotson underwent the lifesaving surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The liver was donated by Michael Waters, whose parents chose to honor their son’s wish to be an organ donor. Alongside his liver, Michael’s heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, and limbs were donated to other recipients.

Noah Waters, Michael’s younger brother and Dotson’s fiancé, described Michael as a mature and generous young boy even at a young age. “Even as a kid, he’d do anything for anybody,” Noah said.

The connection between Dotson and the Waters family extended beyond the transplant. Over the years, Dotson and Noah developed a friendship that deepened into a romantic relationship. Dotson recounted how they would FaceTime for hours and eventually realized their feelings for each other. Their relationship was facilitated in part by Dotson’s mother, who reached out to Noah to express that her daughter had feelings for him. Noah soon visited Dotson, and their bond grew stronger.

The couple plans to marry on September 26. Noah reflected on the profound impact his late brother had, saying he likely understood his purpose even in death. “I had no idea that my brother was gonna save my wife’s life 20 years later,” he said.

Dotson expressed gratitude for the chance to live and honor Michael Waters’s memory through her life and upcoming marriage. “I get to enjoy life because of him and I get to live and hopefully honor his memory the best way that I can,” she said. Noah emphasized the sentiment with a smile: “You get his last name.”