This is going to be a gut-wrenching read, but it’s full of motivation and inspiration too. It’s about a boy named Xaven Garcia, who died while saving his family from a fire at their house.
Even after passing away, this real-life superhero saved eight more lives because he was an organ donor.
Xaven Garcia – A True Superhero
Xaven Garcia was a 17-year-old boy from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a high school senior – a good student and an incredible human being.
On November 14th, 2021, Xaven & his father, Phil, slept on the couch while watching football. After a while, Phil woke up and went to his room to sleep.
That’s when Xaven ran up to his father’s room to tell him the house was on fire. Phil told Albuquerque Journal how his son woke him up; Xaven said:
“Dad, dad, you need to get out – the house is on fire.”
Phil continued:
“I was kind of in a daze, I couldn’t really wake up. So, he literally grabbed me and started pulling me out the house,”
They quickly ran out of the smoke-filled house. After realizing that Xaven’s sister was still inside, Phil ran back into the house to get her while telling Xaven to wait.
“You stay right here. Don’t you dare move,”
Phil took a while inside the burning house. Worrying for his dad’s safety, Xaven ran into the house to get him and his sister. Inside the smoke and fire-filled home, Xaven collapsed. According to Phil:
“I’m thinking he probably is freaking out, saying, ‘Dad, dad, dad,’ and he probably ran in to go grab me again. And the smoke overtook him,”
The fire department showed up ran into the house while stopping Phil from running back into the house. Phil said:
“When they pulled him out of the fire, I just lost it,”
“I was in the middle of the street screaming, trying to get to him.”
Xaven was rushed to UNM Hospital, where he was kept on life-support, but sadly the boy didn’t make it.
Saving Lives, Forever
Just a day before the fire broke out at their home, Xavier spoke to his dad about his dad’s ID – which had a heart drawn on it because he’s an organ donor. According to Phil:
“He goes, ‘I want to do that. That sounds awesome.’ And that kind of freaked me out because you don’t hear that from a 17-year-old boy,”
“I’m like, ‘You know what, that’d be awesome. If you did that, you’d be a hero.’ He goes, ‘Just like you. I want to be a hero, like you.’”
Xaven had already signed up as an organ donor months ago, which Phil found out later. Phil said it’s exactly what his son would’ve done, the kind of pure soul he was.
“When he sees somebody that needs what he has, he gives it to him, he won’t even hesitate,”
“He has a heart of gold … he just wanted to see the world in a better place.”
His son’s organs are now donated to eight different people in different cities – making him a hero who’s still helping people and saving lives.
Keeping Xaven’s Memories Alive
Phil spoke about how he was going to reconstruct his son’s room and keep it exactly how it used to be.
“He’s a living hero. You know, he literally saved my life. And I will do whatever it takes to get his name known and what he did in a positive way,”
“I want his death to be of meaning, to help people out who need help.”
You Can Help Out, Too
Susan Garcia, Xaven’s grandmother, also started a GoFundMe campaign to get help. She posted an update on December 6, 2021:
“It is so sad to see the devastation fire can do to a house. My son had no home insurance due to Covid and loss of job he let Insurance lapse. He and my granddaughter will need to rebuild portions destroyed.”
You can donate to the cause by going to their GoFundMe here.
Sources:
Images & Featured Image via Susan Garcia’s GoFundMe
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