Necrotizing enterocolitis led to intestinal tissue inflammation, so he underwent a bowel resection that left him with 58 centimeters of his small intestine. Tater’s body was not absorbing or digesting food properly, so he was diagnosed with short gut syndrome. That meant he needed total parenteral nutrition and lipids, which he received intravenously. Tater endured a patent ductus arteriosus to correct the abnormal blood flow between his aorta and pulmonary artery. He also had a cricoid split procedure to widen and correct his airways. And he was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease, which left him extremely jaundiced.

Life was not normal for Tater, who lived in the hospital until he was 8 months old, and afterward, was hospitalized every month for the next five years.

“I remember one week where literally every patient in the NICU passed away except Tater,” Tater’s mom, Narqueisha Johnson, said. “I cried every time someone passed away and couldn’t help but think – ‘Is Tater next?’”

When Tater was 3 years old, he was placed on the national transplant waiting list for a multi-organ transplant. To survive, Tater needed a new small intestine, liver and pancreas.

“I didn’t even know you could transplant all of those organs. I’d heard of someone needing a kidney, but the thought of three different organs all at the same time was definitely scary,” Narqueisha said.

But a multi-organ transplant was Tater’s only hope. His prognosis was very grim.

“We got to the point of a doctor telling us it was okay to let him go,” Narqueisha said.

On a Thursday around 7 a.m., Narqueisha’s phone rang, and everything changed in an instant. Tater was going to receive the transplant that he so desperately needed!

Narqueisha felt some excitement when she hung up the phone, but she refrained from calling family and friends right away. Two times before, she had received similar phone calls only to find out the transplant was not going to happen. She could not put herself through the emotional roller coaster of following up those phone calls with bad news again.

But this time, it was meant to be. Narqueisha and Tater headed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and on April 15, 2010, Tater received a life-saving multi-organ transplant.

Tater’s newfound health also provided a burst of energy.

“That boy was trying to play basketball right after his transplant!” Narqueisha said.

Ironically, the time Tater spent in the hospital during and after his transplant ended up being one of the shortest stays of his life. When Tater returned home in June, he quite literally had nothing holding him back anymore.

“My whole life changed,” Tater said. “I went from basically living in the hospital to being able to enjoy life. Not only can I now ride a bike and a hoverboard, but I can simply just walk and run freely without being attached to any tubes, poles or a backpack full of pumps. I can now eat by mouth, and I love to eat!”

For the first time, Tater’s life was normalizing, and Narqueisha had a funny thought.

“I was like, ‘Uh oh, I’ve got to cook for him now that he’s not being fed through those tubes!’” Narqueisha said.

The first food Tater ate was sausage. He started off with half a piece, and within months, he was sometimes eating up to a dozen a day! Narqueisha happily makes weekly trips to Sam’s Club to try to keep up with Tater’s appetite.

“He didn’t physically eat for about six years, so he’s making up for lost time,” Narqueisha said.

Tater’s favorite foods include pizza, Chipotle chicken burrito bowls, bourbon chicken, fried chicken, seafood boils and corn.

In addition to eating, Tater enjoys playing basketball, skating, dancing, watching sports, playing video games and making people laugh with his larger-than-life personality.

“He has brought joy and laughter into so many lives,” Narqueisha said.

Narqueisha is constantly amazed by Tater, whose quality of life is “one thousand times better since his transplant.”

Narqueisha wrote a letter to Tater’s donor family, but she has not heard back.

“The biggest thing I want to tell them is thank you. Their decision to give the greatest gift made a difference. Their child is still living on in Tater,” Narqueisha said. “Our lives will never be the same, and we are forever grateful and blessed by our donor angel.”

Narqueisha and Tater volunteer for Life Connection of Ohio to educate people – especially those in communities of color – about the importance of organ donation.

“Sometimes our people don’t want to donate, but we need kidneys more than any other ethnicity. Some people listen to the myths and not the facts, so we need to get the facts out there,” Narqueisha said. “Tater is truly an example of why people should register to become organ and tissue donors.”

Tater is grateful for his second chance at life.

“I’m alive today because someone said ‘yes’ to organ donation. I am forever grateful for my donor angel,” Tater said. “I will shoot to do my very best because that’s the least I can do for my donor.”