“My Dear Boy” Star Derek Chang Donated His Liver to Father
Derek Chang (張軒睿), who shot to fame following his starring appearances in the dramas Prince of Wolf <狼王子> and My Dear Boy <我的男孩>, has recently released his debut book Remember the Boy’s Face <記得男孩的樣子>, an autobiography and photobook.
The photobook did its job to deliver the fanservice, and in one photoshoot, Derek revealed a long scar on his belly. The scar came from a surgery he underwent three years ago, when he donated his liver to his father.
“If I get to choose again, I’d still do the same thing,” he said. “I’d do it ten times over if I had to.”
In the book, the actor said his father was diagnosed with liver cancer when he was 22 years old. Derek had the only matching liver. “If I didn’t do it, my father would only have three months left to live. I really didn’t think too much of it. I immediately said yes.”
On the night before the operation, Derek couldn’t sleep. He was worried that the surgery would fail, and he was also worried that his father would not wake up. Succumbed with emotions, he sent a text message to his father, which read, “I love you.”
Derek donated 45% of his liver to his father. He also donated his gallbladder. After waking up from the surgery, Derek said he was in so much pain that he couldn’t even read. He started to scream, and the nurses had to tranquilize him. “I was discharged about 10 days later. I was recommended to mobilizer myself sooner so my heal would not deteriorate. Although I was in pain, I had to stand again.”
The 25-year-old has adopted a much healthier lifestyle after the surgery. He would be in bed by midnight and would sleep at least 8 hours a day. He controls his diet—no fatty foods, no excessive salt, sugar, or fried foods. He drinks 2 liters of water every day. When he is on the brink of getting overwork, he said he would feel his body physically denying him. “No more than a month after I was discharged, I had to go to the mainland to film a drama. After filming one whole night, I felt like I was going to die.”
Source: Ettoday.net
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Love this cutie in ‘My dear boy’. Pure love for his dad.
Can the writer of this article be more precise on who he is writing about? It says Derek Chang in the headline but down below the article, it says Daniel. So is it Derek or Daniel?
@mysterym2m
I just pay attention to the Chinese name since that is more important. English names are not official or are as important.
Half way through the article, his name changed to Daniel instead of Derek
What a filial son! I usually hear children praise their mother but do not hear much about their father. So touched and his father is lucky to have such a sweet and filial son.
it’s tough living without a gallbladder, especially at such a young age. You really miss out on a lot of food early in life. What an awesome son.
@vell Unconditional love for his dad. He did not know about the severity of his father’s condition because his family kept it from him as he was working in China.
He has to lead a healthy life with half a liver and no gall.bladder. This will impact his work as being an actor is not all fame and roses. Derek probably has to stay clear of drama which require physical stamina and endurance.
@mangotango 🙁 I first saw him my dear boy, and he was so good portraying the growth and maturity of the character. Love to see more of him
@mangotango
He is such a good son! By the way, the liver will regenerate into a full liver with time, rest and lots of tender loving care. My brother’s wife got her gall bladder removed but she still lives a pretty normal life and eats what she likes. Therefore, his life will not have much difficulty once his liver regenerates.
@hetieshou I know some people with no gallbladders, and they always have to restrict certain foods because those foods (especially fatty foods which require gallbladder) would trigger nausea or stomach ache. If your brother’s wife can eat anything, she is most likely taking some sort of supplement (like Ox Bile or anything that produce artificial bile) to help digest the fatty foods otherwise it can be nauseating when she eats. I know a lot of people living perfectly normal life without gallbladders, but they’re usually in their 40’s or 50’s and Derek is so young :(. And yes the liver does regenerate so I pray a speedy recovery for him.
@hetieshou Glad to know that the liver can regenerates to normal size. He is still very young so good growth is high.