People USA – August 12, 2019

W

hen her cell phone rang that

day in November 2018, Col-

leen Henry knew immedi-

ately that it was the hospital

calling. As she left her desk at

work to take the call in private, she could only hope

that this time it was good news. Diagnosed with

liver disease 10 years earlier, the single mother of

two had been placed on a transplant list in 2017—

her only real chance for survival. So far, doctors

hadn’t been able to find a living donor, and

time—and hope—was running out. “I was

getting sicker and sicker, and I just

couldn’t keep up with work any-

more,” says Colleen, 46. “Then I

heard the woman say, ‘You have a

live liver donor.’ We both started

tearing up. And I said, ‘Wow,

who is it?’ Everything ’s got to

stay confidential, so they

wouldn’t tell me. But I knew in

my heart of hearts that it’s got to be my brother—

because who else would do this for me? It was a very

emotional moment.”

That sisterly hunch was spot-on, as Colleen

learned when she talked to her brother—Ed Hen-

ry, chief national correspondent for Fox News—just

a week later. “I was overwhelmed,” she says. On

July 9 the siblings underwent a nearly 10-hour liver

transplant procedure at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai

Hospital, where Ed successfully donated 30 percent

of his liver to his younger sister. “You want both

of you to make it through,” says the 48-year-

old news veteran. “I feel incredibly lucky

and blessed that we’re both on the

road to recovery.” Adds Colleen:

“He has really saved my life.”

It was a sacrifice Colleen

would never have asked her

only sibling to make. Diag-

nosed with a genetic liver dis-

ease known as primary biliary

A Brother’s

Lifesaving Gift

WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT HIS SISTER DESPERATELY NEEDED A LIVER DONOR, FOX

NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT ED HENRY VOLUNTEERED. NOW THEY’RE BOTH

LOOKING FORWARD TO HAPPY—AND HEALTHY—TIMES AHEAD By HANNA FLANAGAN

‘The idea

that my

sister

might not

be here

was just not

possible’

—ED HENRY

PEOPLE August 12, 2019 71

Sibling Support

Ed and Colleen

(left) days before

the procedure and

(right) heading

into surgery. “I can

tell you, as a living

donor,” says Ed,

“it’s a wonderful

experience.”

Ed has worked
for Fox News
FR since 2011.

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