18 years after saving his life, Boston Marathon athlete running for Boston Children’s

By Matt Reed

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    NEWTON, Massachusetts (WCVB) — He’s the youngest runner on Boston Children’s Miles for Miracles team, but Ben Fleishman’s connection with the hospital is one of the longest.

It goes back 18 years to when he was an infant.

“At nine weeks old, I was diagnosed with a rare liver disease,” Fleishman said. “My parents were told kind of that having a procedure to put off the need for transplant was pretty much my only option.”

At 11, Fleishman was put on the organ waitlist and received a split liver transplant at age 13.

“The way they’ve been able to impact my life and, honestly, my family’s lives, is just truly incredible,” Fleishman said.

Boston Children’s HospitalSupport Matt Reed’s Boston Marathon fundraiser for Boston Children’s Hospital The transplant was a success, and just seven weeks later, Fleishman was playing sports again.

But during his junior year, Fleishman was diagnosed with a bout of acute liver rejection. He spent about 30 nights in the hospital.

“Everyone there is incredibly compassionate and caring. I mean, I’ve been in there during the school year, and they’ve all been kind of focused on making sure I can stay focused on my academics and my out-of-hospital life,” Fleishman said.

Now with medication and frequent checkups at Boston Children’s, Fleishman is taking on the marathon for the first time and raising money for the hospital and the staff who have changed his life, his family’s life and the lives of thousands of other patients.

“They’ve given me a lot of hope in terms of where I was and where I am now,” said Fleishman.

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