San Diego daughter gives dad the Father’s Day gift of more life

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The bond between a father and daughter can be like no other, and there’s a lot of special moments that can only be shared between a dad and his daughter — a father daughter dance, a walk down the aisle.

But for San Diegans Bob Platt and his daughter, Erika, there’s a bond that is deeper than just a title. 

“The love I have for this man is like no other,” Erika said about her 78-year-old father. “My first love since the day I was born.” She said he is her superhero, and her mentor.

Bob and Erika have a bond not many fathers and daughters share.

“I knew in my mind there was no stopping me, it was a no brainer,” she said.

She’s talking about a kidney.

Her dad was just placed on dialysis, and she wanted to step in to donate her kidney to him, but being the protective and caring father that he is, he tried to stop her.

Spoiler Alert: It didn’t work.

“As parents, we didn’t want our child to go through that process, we didn’t want her to donate a kidney. Subsequent to that, she was so adamant,” Platt laughed.

“There actually wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was not going to donate if I was able to,” Erika said.

When Erika found out she was a match, the two underwent surgery at the same time at UC San Diego Health.

A Heartfelt and emotional video taken shortly after their surgery shows the two of them seeing each other for the first time, but with a laugh from Erika.

“Did you hear, you got my brain, not my kidney, sorry about your luck,” she joked with her dad.

“It’s a miracle,” Bob said during an interview with FOX 5/KUSI on Father’s Day.

“I know the sacrifices that he has given me throughout the years, and it’s a lot. The fact that he is still here throughout the years and loves me more than anything, I knew that my kids needed to have their grandfather in their lives,” she said.

“I couldn’t spend as much time with him because he was in dialysis,” Lucas, Bob’s grandson said. He’s looking forward to having his “Boppie” back at his sporting events cheering. 

“Everyday to me is Father’s Day now,” Platt said.

“They were both motived and enthusiastic, which made the process of getting them to transplant very smooth. Post-op, they were still both so excited and grateful.  She was focused on him doing well, and he was focused on her,” said Dr. Jennifer Berumen with UC San Diego Health.

Some patients wait up to 15 years for a kidney donation, and there’s more than 100,000 people on a waiting list for a kidney donation. 

Erika hopes more people will become living donors. Visit UC San Diego Health’s website to learn how to donate.